Duleep Trophy 2025 Final Day 3: Central Zone Eye Historic Win Against South Zone | Cricket News

South Zone’s Ankit Sharma and Andre Siddarth delivered a stellar defensive batting performance, but Central Zone is on the verge of clinching their first Duleep Trophy title in 11 years. As of Sunday, at the end of the fourth day, they need just 65 runs to secure victory.

Resuming at 129 for two overnight, South endured a challenging first session but were eventually dismissed for 426 in their second innings, with spinners Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain taking seven wickets between them.

South leads by only 64 runs, and Central is expected to overcome this target with ease on the fifth day, Monday.

Ankit (99 off 168 balls) and Siddarth (84 not out off 190 balls) forged a remarkable 192-run partnership for the seventh wicket, rescuing South from a precarious 222 for six — still 141 runs short of the 363 required to avoid an innings defeat.

Ankit’s innings was a testament to his resilience and composure against the bowlers.

Central pacers Deepak Chahar and Kuldeep Sen tested his off-stump awareness and reflexes with several challenging deliveries, but the left-hander held firm each time.

On a couple of occasions, spinners Kartikeya (4/110) and Jain (3/130) managed to beat them with subtle but effective turn, but the 34-year-old swiftly overcame these challenges to continue his innings.

Ankit was well-supported by Siddarth at the other end, who displayed remarkable situational awareness for his young age of 19.

It would not be an exaggeration to see shades of his uncle Sridharan Sharath, former Tamil Nadu batter and current national selector, in Siddarth’s performance, as Sharath was known for his crisis management for his state in the 90s.

Siddarth generally focused on maintaining his wicket but also showed moments of elegance with his flicks and drives.

As the pair continued to add runs meticulously, the frustration among Central bowlers grew significantly, especially since they did not lose a wicket in the second session — scoring 86 without loss.

However, the momentum shifted when Ankit, on 99, uncharacteristically attempted an aggressive shot off Kartikeya, resulting in a simple catch to Rajat Patidar.

Following Ankit’s dismissal, Central promptly took the remaining three South wickets.

Despite their eventual resistance, South had a challenging start to the day, losing four wickets in the first session while adding 120 runs, bringing them dangerously close to an innings defeat.

Ricky Bhui (45) was the first to fall, edging Chahar to Shubham Sharma in the slip cordon, and Ravichandran Smaran, the other overnight batter, soon followed.

Smaran progressed from 37 to complete his fifty (67), but his innings ended with a misjudged sweep off Kartikeya, caught by Yash Rathod in the deep.

South skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen (27) had a lucky escape on 19 and 27 against Kartikeya, but eventually fell to the left-arm spinner, playing a poor pull shot to Kuldeep Sen at mid-on.

Salman Nizar (12) also succumbed to Kartikeya before Ankit and Siddarth stabilized South with a determined partnership until late wickets disrupted their progress.

(With PTI Inputs)