Bengaluru, Sep 15 Central Zone faced some nervy moments before sealing a six-wicket victory in the final of the 2025/26 Duleep Trophy against South Zone on day five at the BCCI CoE Excellence Ground 1 on Monday.
In their chase of 65, opener Akshay Wadkar remained unbeaten on 19 and maintained composure while wickets fell on the other hand, but South Zone just did not have enough runs on the board to allow their bowlers a chance to defend the total.
Ankit Sharma and Gurjapneet Singh claimed two wickets apiece, with the former claiming the prized scalp of Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar.
In the end, it was a matter of when, not if, and Yash Rathod was the man to help Wadkar guide his team to victory.
The final going into day five was made possible due to a gritty seventh-wicket stand of 192 runs between Ankit Sharma and C Andre Siddarth. Initially, Central Zone were in a pole position to get an innings victory by reducing South Zone to 222/6 before lunch.
But Ankit and Siddarth delayed the inevitable and revived South Zone’s hopes of winning the final through a stunning rearguard act. After Ankit fell agonisingly short of a century after being dismissed for 99, a dramatic collapse in the final half hour of day four’s play meant Central Zone are now in a great position to win the trophy.
Brief Scores: South Zone 149 & 426 in 121 overs (Ankit Kumar 99, Andre Siddarth 84 not out; Kumar Kartikeya Singh 4-110, Saransh Jain 3-130) lost to Central Zone 511 & 66/4 in 20.3 overs (Akshay Wadkar 18 not out, Yash Rathod 13 not out; Ankit Sharma 2-24) by six wickets.
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