Yash Rathod’s 194 Leads Central Zone To Duleep Trophy Final Dominance | Cricket News

Yash Rathod achieved his highest first-class score of 194 as Central Zone secured a substantial first-innings lead of 362 against South Zone, taking firm control of the Duleep Trophy final on Saturday.

Central resumed the third day at a commanding 384 for five, with Rathod on 137, and managed to reach 511 before being bowled out an hour into the post-lunch session.

In their second innings, South Zone reached 129 for two, still trailing by 233 runs. Ravichandran Smaran (37) and Ricky Bhui (26) were not out at stumps.

The highlight of the day was Rathod, who had been the top run-scorer in the previous Ranji Trophy season with 960 runs. He entered the final after missing two opportunities to score hundreds against NorthEast Zone, scoring 87 and 78 in the quarterfinal, but was dismissed for just two in the semifinal against West Zone.

Starting the day on 137, Rathod quickly reached 150 off 223 balls and surpassed his previous highest score of 151, extending the sixth-wicket partnership with Saransh Jain (69, overnight 47) to 176 runs.

Rathod’s batting was marked by his successful approach against South’s Ankit Sharma, from whom he scored 76 runs off 84 balls (7×4, 1×6).

Explaining his strategy against the spinners, Ankit and Bhui, Rathod said he benefitted from focusing on reacting to the ball and controlling his nerves, as advised by Rajat Patidar.

Central went to lunch at 488 for six after losing Jain to Ankit (4/180), and Rathod was dismissed soon after play resumed. The 25-year-old missed a delivery from Gurjapneet Singh (4/124) that nipped back from the off-stump line, hitting the stumps.

After Rathod fell just six runs short of a maiden double century, Central quickly lost the remaining three wickets, adding only 11 runs.

South Zone, bowled out for 149 in the first innings, showed better resolve in their second innings. Openers Tanmay Agarwal (26) and Mohit Kale (38) put on 62 for the first wicket before Kale was trapped lbw by off-spinner Jain.

Agarwal’s dismissal was unfortunate as he left a delivery from Kuldeep Sen, expecting it to move past the stumps, but it flicked the bail off.

Despite this, Smaran and Bhui steadied South Zone’s innings, adding 53 runs off 14.5 overs for the ongoing third-wicket partnership. Smaran survived a leg-before decision using DRS but otherwise played solidly, with some exquisite drives on the off-side.

Brief scores: South Zone 149 & 129 for 2 in 33 overs (Mohit Kale 38, Ravichandran Smaran 37 not out) vs Central Zone 511 all out in 145.1 overs (Danish Malewar 53, Rajat Patidar 101, Yash Rathod 194, Saransh Jain 69; Gurjapneet Singh 4/124, Ankit Sharma 4/180)

(With agency inputs)