Follow Us“I got 99 problems, but winning a trophy ain’t one”.
Success has become a habit for skipper Rajat Patidar, as the Madhya Pradesh batter led Central Zone to their seventh Duleep Trophy title, with a dominant six-wicket win over South Zone. After ten years of drought, Patidar’s Central Zone returned to familiar territory, outplaying a relatively young South Zone across both innings.
Months after breaking an 18-year-old drought with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), Patidar played a crucial role in Central Zone’s success, smashing a 115-ball 101 in the first innings, with 12 fours and two sixes. But the real stars for Central Zone were their two spinners - Saransh Jain and Kumar Kartikeya.
Jain was named as the Player of the Series, with the off-spinning all-rounder ending up with figures of 5/49 in the first innings and 3/130 in the second. Kartikeya too put on a show, with eight wickets in the clash.
Barring these three, Yash Rathod, who was named the Player of the Match, put on 194 in Central Zone’s first innings, and played a huge hand in their success against South Zone in Bengaluru.