Central Zone Triumphs Over South by Six Wickets to Claim 2025 Duleep Trophy

On Monday, Central Zone clinched a six-wicket victory over South Zone on the final day of their Duleep Trophy final at the BCCI CoE Ground (1) in Bengaluru. Despite a few stumbling blocks along the way, Central Zone successfully chased down the 65 runs required to earn the title during the morning session. This win marks Central’s first Duleep Trophy victory since Piyush Chawla’s leadership in the 2014-15 season.

In a tweet celebrating the win, the BCCI Domestic announced, “Central Zone are the Duleep Trophy winners! 🙌 Yash Rathod hits the winning runs and finishes it off in style as Central Zone beat South Zone by 6 wickets 👌 A fantastic victory 👏”. You can check out the scorecard here.

Central Zone maintained a dominant position throughout the match after posting a formidable total of 511 in their first innings. South Zone, however, was left to regret their poor batting performance on day one, getting bowled out for just 149 on a pitch favorable to batsmen.

South Zone’s coach, former India pacer L. Balaji, acknowledged that his team’s batters needed to exercise more caution in their first innings. He noted, “In hindsight, you can say that some of the shots were a little bit unnecessary. But this is a young batting unit. They will definitely learn from this.” Balaji specifically mentioned players like R. Smaran and Andre Siddarth as young talents in development.

Madhya Pradesh all-rounder Saransh Jain was awarded ‘Player of the Series’, having emerged as the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 16 wickets and contributing two valuable fifties with the bat. The 32-year-old expressed satisfaction with his performance, seeing it as a strong start to the domestic season. “It is a very important series for me because it helps prepare for all the upcoming tournaments. It all starts with the Duleep Trophy. It is very important for me to carry this momentum forward,” Saransh said.

With all the national selectors present, performances in this tournament are closely monitored. Saransh commented, “This is an important tournament. My aim is to give my best. The rest is up to the selectors.”

Final scores: South Zone 149 & 426 lost to Central Zone 511 & 66/4 in 20.3 overs.

Player of the Match was awarded to Yash Rathod, and Saransh Jain was named the Player of the Series.

Published on September 15, 2025.