Duleep Trophy: Badoni's unbeaten 204 takes spotlight, North and Central Zones advance

Ayush Badoni struck an unbeaten double-century to headline proceedings as the Duleep Trophy quarter-final stage wrapped up on Sunday, 31 August, with both North Zone and Central Zone progressing to the semi-finals following draws in their respective fixtures against East Zone and North-East Zone.

North Zone Dominate Despite Draw

Resuming the final day at 388 for 2, North Zone already held a commanding 563-run lead. Choosing to bat through the day to secure qualification via their first-innings advantage, they piled up an imposing total. Badoni’s unbeaten double-hundred was the centrepiece of the innings, while opener Ankit Kumar fell just short of his own double century with 198, and Nishant Sindhu chipped in with 68. Together, they stretched North Zone’s overall lead to a staggering 833 runs.

East Zone’s bowling resources were notably weakened. Mohammad Shami did not feature on the final day, and Mukesh Kumar, hampered by injury concerns, was also unavailable. Without their frontline pacers, East Zone struggled to contain North Zone’s batting onslaught and offered little resistance. The match inevitably drifted to a draw, with North Zone comfortably sealing their semi-final berth.

Central Zone Hold Firm Against North-East

In the other quarter-final, Central Zone ensured their path to the last four by maintaining control against North-East Zone. Having declared their second innings on the previous day, Central Zone limited their opponents to 200 for 6, with the target never realistically within reach.

North-East skipper Rongsen Jonathan and wicketkeeper-batter Jehu Anderson showed some fight with half-centuries apiece, but the chase faltered against disciplined bowling. Harsh Dubey and Aditya Thakare shared four wickets between them to keep North-East at bay.

It was another forgettable outing for India international Kuldeep Yadav, who finished wicketless across both innings. Bowling a combined 32 overs without success, the left-arm wrist-spinner will be hoping for a stronger showing in the semi-finals should he retain his place.

With the quarter-final stage concluding, both North Zone and Central Zone will look to build on their dominant displays when they line up for the semi-finals next week.