Skipper Rajat Patidar and Yash Rathod exploited the lack of spin bowling options in South Zone ranks to score centuries and take Central Zone to a commanding 384 for five on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru on Friday. Central have a strong first innings lead of 235 runs after Patidar (101, 115 balls) and Rathod (137 batting, 188b) scored their 15th and 7th first-class centuries respectively.
Saransh Jain (47 batting) was giving company to Rathod at stumps.
Before Patidar and Rathod milked 167 runs for the fourth wicket to take the match decisively away from South, the former were in some trouble at 93 for three. Overnight 50 for no loss, Central added 102 runs in the first session but lost openers Danish Malewar (53), Akshay Wadkar (22) and Shubham Sharma (6) in quick succession. Pacer Gurjapneet Singh (3/74) was the pick of bowlers in that session, jagging the ball around under grey skies to beat the batters often. In the morning session, he was rewarded with the wickets of Malewar and Shubham, while fellow quick Vasuki Koushik accounted for Wadkar, who shouldered arms to a delivery on the off-stump.
But the pitch and conditions eased out in the second and third sessions, benefitting Patidar and Rathod. Patidar took Central past South Zone’s first innings total of 148, when he swept leg-spinner Ricky Bhui for a four. Once the primary target of first innings lead was achieved, Patidar and Rathod shifted gears to add 124 runs in the post-lunch session. Patidar was the enforcer as he played some delightful shots around the ground, and punished Bhui with a sequence of 4, 6, 4.
Soon, he smoked Gurjapneet for a four and six off successive balls to move into the 90s, and the hundred came without much delay with a single off left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma. Patidar’s 50 came in 73 balls but his next fifty flowed in 39 balls, as South Zone had only one genuine spinner in Ankit. Bhui’s part-time leg-spin was helpful only in slipping in a few quick overs that helped South maintain a reasonable over-rate on the day.
At the other end, Rathod was more circumspect, giving as much strike as possible to on-song Patidar, but the latter will regret getting out to a loose shot.
The Central leader played a pull off Gurjapneet only to nibble the ball down the leg side to wicketkeeper and his South counterpart Mohammed Azharuddeen.
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Rathod, last season’s highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, fetched his fifty in 84 balls, and then marched to the three-figure mark in 132 balls with a single off Ankit, and he celebrated the moment with a short run with outstretched hands.
The wicket of Patidar might have given South the hope of running through Central’s late order to limit the first innings deficit.
But Rathod and Jain added 118 runs for the unfinished sixth wicket stand to stretch Central’s lead past the 200-run mark, and carrying them closer to the Duleep title.
Patience key for Kartikeya
It may be recalled that Central spinners Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya had taken nine wickets among them.
“I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. In my mind, whatever chance I get, even if I get only one chance, I have to make it count,” Kartikeya is quoted as saying by PTI after the first day’s play.
In his first red-ball match of the 2025-26 season, Kartikeya, who is generally dubbed as a white ball specialist, showed his versatility while bowling an impeccable spell with red ball, often keeping the batters guessing.
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“I know it will not be easy because from what I have seen in the last 3-4 matches (here), the economy rate of the bowlers has been quite high. So, I have analysed that I have to keep the economy good first, so that batsmen come under pressure and something goes wrong.” “I knew that runs can be made on this pitch. But if I keep bowling in good areas, the more difficult it will be for the batters, so, I had to play with patience and it was my main motive. I benefited from it. So, I was trying to be more patient in bowling,” he added.
He would not have got a chance in the title clash had fellow left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey not got selected for India A to play against Australia A. Kartikeya said he was determined to make an impact in his first Duleep Trophy chance in over two seasons. “Before this match, two years ago, I took eight wickets in a Duleep Trophy match. After that, I have not been able to perform. It’s in my mind that I will have to take as many wickets as possible in domestic cricket to get a name for myself.”
Brief scores: South Zone 149 vs Central Zone 384/5 (Rathod 137*, Patidar 101, Malewar 53, Gurjapneet 3-74), Central lead by 235 runs at the end of Day 2
With PTI inputs
