Central Zone has ended heir 11-year title drought and clinched the Duleep Trophy with a four-wicket win against the South Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. They were chasing a target of 65 runs and crossed the finish line within 20.3 overs by only losing four wickets in the process. The Central Zone lifted their 7th Fuleep Trophy title.
The South Zone on the other hand had a slim chance and their bowlers tried to built in pressure as they dismissed Central’s top order early. In the first-innings, Centurion Yash Rathod (13* off 16) and Akshay Wadkar (19* off 52) held the nerve and finished the game.
Left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma also provided an early breakthrough as he dismissed Danish Malewar. He later went on to dismiss Central captain Rajat Patidar who was trying to play a slog-sweep for a tense phase.
Despite all the obstacles, Yash Rathod was named the Player of the match and South Zone could not make a comeback into the game.
Rajat Patidar on the other hand is having a dream year, first he guided RCB towards first time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) then he was announced as the captain of one India A ODI match against Australia. Now, Patidar has led the Central Zone towards victory in Duleep Trophy.
