Duleep Trophy 2025-26: Central Zone clinch 7th title — key players and performances behind their dominant campaign.
Yash Rathod punched Vasuki Koushik’s length delivery through the cover-point region for a boundary to seal a six-wicket victory for Central Zone to earn the Duleep Trophy 2025. For most of the five days, they showed dominance with both bat and ball in hand. Having bundled out the South Zone for 149 in the first innings, the Rajat Patidar-led side gained a 362-run first innings lead to kill the game.
Even though Central Zone lost four wickets in their 66-run fourth innings chase, they were comfortable in bagging the victory. Throughout the tournament, they displayed their phenomenal performance. In the second qualifier at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, they qualified riding on a 347-run lead against the North East Zone.
During the second semi-final against the West Zone, they enjoyed a lead of 162 runs. Different match winners raised their hands in various situations, which was a key factor in their success.
Let’s take a look at the architects of Central Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2025-26 title win.
Rajat Patidar leads from the front with 382 runs
Rajat Patidar came into this tournament with lots of expectations. He was superbly confident after his successful title-winning IPL campaign with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He started the event with a fine century at a strike rate of over 130 against the North East Zone.
The Madhya Pradesh-born continued the flow with a half-century in the semifinal. But his best knock came in the final. The right-handed batter clubbed 101 runs in just 115 balls, decorated with 12 boundaries and two sixes. He also put up a strong 167-run stand for the fourth wicket, which laid the platform to cross the 500-run mark.
Patidar finished the Duleep Trophy 2025 as the leading run-getter with 382 runs in three innings. He celebrated these runs at an average of 76.40 and a strike rate of 96.95. The national selectors dropped him from the Test side after his poor record of 63 runs in six innings against England. However, his tournament could be enough to at least return to the squad, if not getting back into the playing eleven.
Read More: Rajat Patidar scripting quiet resurgence since forgettable Test debut against England in 2024
Yash Rathod and Danish Malewar stand up in crucial situations
Yash Rathod finished the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 season as the highest run-scorer. The left-handed batter clubbed 960 runs in 18 innings, scoring five centuries and three fifties. In a big final, the anticipation was to get runs from the Vidarbha batter.
The 25-year-old began the quarter-final with two half-centuries. But his most impressive knock came in the final when he smashed 194 runs at a strike rate of nearly 68. It needed a special delivery from Gurjapneet Singh to break his concentration. Rathod slowly aims to prepare well for the Irani Trophy, followed by a potential place in India A.
“I also obviously want to play IPL, but my immediate goal is to prepare myself for the Irani Trophy, as that is also a big stage. If I perform there, I will get closer to my India A dream. Yes, I want to play for India, but to reach there, India A is my first step.” The 25-year-old said to ESPNcricinfo.
Danish Malewar celebrated a fifty in the first innings of the final. But he had already contributed to the Central Zone with 203 against the North East Zone. The 21-year-old is a very balanced player who loves to take his time in the middle. Malewar, who cracked 783 runs in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, hopes to continue the dominance.
Rathod and Malewar were the second and third run-getters of the competition with 374 and 352 runs, respectively.
Read More: Who are the Test hopefuls waiting in the wings ahead of India’s 2025-26 home season?
Saransh Jain catches South Zone in spin web
It’s never easy to be away from professional cricket for nine months and still show the same dominance. But that’s exactly what Saransh Jain displayed. He featured in the last week of January in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 clash against Uttar Pradesh. However, even after such a long layoff, the off-spinner was spot on with his line and length.
In the semifinal, he picked up eight wickets, including 5/84 in the second innings. With the bat, he thumped an unbeaten knock of 63 runs against the West Zone. In the final, he used the surface pretty well with 5/49 in the first innings. In the batting department, he scored 69 runs during the 176-run stand for the sixth wicket.
The Indore-born spinner won the Lala Amarnath award for the best all-rounder in the Ranji Trophy 2022-23. And he wants to repeat the same feat to ‘see the India logo’ on his jersey.
“I have liked batting since childhood. If you want to play cricket as a spinner, you can’t just be a bowler. You have to be a proper batter. When I bat, I compare myself with Rajat and other good batters. In bowling, I know what I have to do.” Jain told ESPNcricinfo.
Read More: Top performers in Quarter-Final stage of Duleep Trophy 2025-26
Harsh Dubey and Kumar Kartikeya’s combined success
Harsh Dubey was the leading Ranji Trophy 2024-25 wicket-taker with 69 wickets in 19 innings. After a below-average performance against England Lions in May, Dubey returned to the Duleep Trophy 2025. In the semifinal, he bashed 75 runs with the bat and picked up six wickets across two innings.
In 37 FC innings, he has already picked 108 wickets at an average of nearly 22. With the bat, the Vidarbha star has celebrated eight fifties at an average of over 25.
Meanwhile, Kumar Kartikeya partnered with Jain during the first innings of the final. In 21 overs, he picked up 4/53 before bagging another four wickets in the second innings. Out of those, he collected the wicket of Smaran Ravichandran twice in the clash. In the second innings, the UP spinner broke the 192-run stand to deny Ankit Sharma his second FC century.
With the end of the Duleep Trophy, the focus will shift to the Irani Cup. Vidarbha, the Ranji Trophy 2024/25 champions, will lock horns with the Rest of India on October 01 in Nagpur.
Read More: Duleep Trophy 2025-26: Review of semi-final stage
