Rajat Patidar's fifty extends Central Zone's lead, East Zone's Shami goes wicketless

Fifties from Rajat Patidar and Yash Rathod, along with a brilliant century by Shubham Sharma, put Central Zone firmly in control of their Duleep Trophy 2025 quarter-final clash against North East Zone. At the end of the third day’s play on Saturday, August 30, Central declared after building a massive 678-run lead, leaving their opponents with little hope of staging a comeback.

Skipper Rajat Patidar continued his fine run of form, once again leading from the front with a fluent knock against a struggling North East bowling unit. Supporting him, Yash Rathod added stability in the middle order before Shubham Sharma stole the spotlight with a commanding hundred. Sharma’s innings was filled with classy stroke play as he struck 17 boundaries before finally edging behind to the wicketkeeper off Akash Choudhary’s bowling.

Earlier in the day, pacer Khaleel Ahmed ensured Central Zone gained the upper hand quickly by wrapping up the North East tail in no time. He finished the first innings with figures of 2 for 36 from 9.3 overs, giving his side enough time to build on their dominance with the bat.

North Zone extends dominance as Shami struggles

Over in the other quarter-final, North Zone continued their domination against East Zone with a massive second-wicket partnership. Captain Yash Dhull and Ankit Kumar combined for a marathon 240-run stand in 290 balls. Dhull played aggressively, keeping the scoreboard ticking, while Ankit opted for patience, guiding the innings with composure.

Veteran India pacer Mohammed Shami, representing East Zone, endured a frustrating outing. Despite extracting some movement off the surface, he went wicketless after bowling 11 overs. To make matters worse for East Zone, Shami did not bowl at all in the final session, and with Mukesh Kumar also unavailable, the bowling lacked bite.

East Zone’s poor fielding only added to their troubles. Ankit Kumar, who finished unbeaten, received a lifeline when Utkarsh Singh dropped him on 112, further dampening East Zone’s chances of a breakthrough.

With Central Zone in command and North Zone piling on runs, the Duleep Trophy is heating up, and the fourth day could prove decisive in both encounters.