Gaikwad and Jagadeesan deliver centuries, while Iyer and Jaiswal struggle on day one of the Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-finals - Key highlights from the opening day's play

In the ongoing Duleep Trophy semi-finals, the first day of action saw some thrilling performances and close encounters.

The first semi-final between South Zone and North Zone was affected by a wet outfield and bad light, resulting in only 81 overs being bowled. Despite the interruptions, South Zone managed to take a strong lead, with their opening batsmen, Tanmay Agarwal and N Jagadeesan, amassing a 103-run partnership. Jagadeesan is currently batting, having remained unbeaten on 148 at the close of play.

In the North Zone innings, left-arm spinner Nishant Sindhu was the most successful bowler, taking 2 wickets for 59 runs. Sindhu's victims included Agarwal, who was dismissed for 43, and Mohit Kale, who was dismissed by Sindhu for 15, courtesy of a catch by Sindhu himself.

Meanwhile, in the second semi-final, West Zone won the toss and chose to bat first. Ruturaj Gaikwad, the West Zone captain, scored a brilliant century, his eighth in first-class cricket, after receiving support from No.7 Tanush Kotian. Gaikwad accelerated after tea, taking 22 runs off a single Khaleel Ahmed over. At the close of play, West Zone had reached 363-6, with Kotian (65) and Shardul Thakur (24*) unbeaten. Khaleel Ahmed was the pick of the Central Zone bowlers, taking 2 wickets for 70 runs.

In the North Zone innings, Sindhu continued his impressive form, dismissing Aarya Desai for 39. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Desai put on 82 runs before Desai's dismissal. Khaleel Ahmed also accounted for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Deepak Chahar, leaving West Zone at 10-2.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Duleep Trophy semi-finals, including live scores, match stats, quizzes, latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis, and live match odds.

Gaikwad and Jagadeesan deliver centuries, while Iyer and Jaiswal struggle on day one of the Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-finals - Key highlights from the opening day's play