Duleep Trophy 2025: West Zone vs Central Zone, Semi-Final 2 Match Preview

Central Zone lock horns with a strong West Zone lineup led by Shardul Thakur in the second semi-final of the 2025 Duleep Trophy, starting from Thursday, September 4, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Ground B, in Bengaluru.

Central Zone will be confident after decimating the North East Zone in the second quarter-final last week. However, they couldn’t get an outright win, only progressing to the semi-finals due to a first-innings lead. Danish Malewar smashed a belligerent double century in the first innings, smashing 203 off 222 balls. Rajat Patidar scored a 96-ball 125, while Aryan Juyal and Yash Rathod slammed fluent half-centuries against a dejected North East Zone bowling lineup.

Shubham Sharma was the top-scorer for Central Zone in the second innings, as he made 122 off 215 balls. Meanwhile, Patidar and Rathod scored 66 and 78, respectively. On the other hand, Aditya Thakare and Harsh Dubey bowled well in both innings.

Central Zone are expected to be led by Patidar after wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel has been ruled out of the clash with a bout of dengue. Akshay Wadkar has been added to the side in his absence. Veteran spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been named in India’s side for the Asia Cup and will not be involved in this encounter. The absence of these two players is a huge blow for Central Zone.

Meanwhile, West Zone had a direct entry into the semi-finals by virtue of being crowned champions of the 2023-24 Duleep Trophy, which was the last time the tournament was held in the zonal format. They have some renowned players in their ranks. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Shreyas Iyer will hog the limelight as far as batters are concerned.

In the seam-bowling department, Shardul Thakur will combine with state teammate Tushar Deshpande. Shams Mulani and Tanush Kotian are expected to do the spin-bowling duties. There could be a toss-up between Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Arzan Nagwaswala, a call which could be made just ahead of the toss after taking a close look at the surface.

West Zone will also miss a key player in Sarfaraz Khan. Baroda’s Shivalik Sharma has replaced the Mumbai batter in the squad, as the latter is recuperating from a quadriceps injury.

The contest between the West Zone batters and the Central Zone bowlers is going to be key. Khaleel Ahmed and Deepak Chahar will have to fire on all cylinders against a strong West Zone batting lineup.

Match Details

Pitch Report

From the pitches in the previous round, it is clear that fans can expect batters to rule the roost once again. Bowlers will have to make the new ball count, especially with cloudy weather predicted on the first day. Rain has been in and around Bengaluru in the last few weeks. Some rain stoppages could hamper play during the clash. The captain who wins the toss would want to bat first and post a huge total.

Head-to-Head record in Duleep Trophy

Predicted Playing XIs

West Zone:

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harvik Desai (WK), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Shivalik Sharma, Jaymeet Patel, Shardul Thakur (C), Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Tushar Deshpande, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja.

Central Zone:

Aayush Pandey, Danish Malewar, Shubham Sharma, Rajat Patidar (C), Akshay Wadkar (WK), Yash Rathod, Deepak Chahar, Harsh Dubey, Manav Suthar, Aditya Thakare, Khaleel Ahmed.

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