The first semi-final of the Duleep Trophy features a match between the Eastern and Central Zones teams. The game is ongoing at the Central of Excellence (CoE) stadium in Bangalore, which belongs to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
All attention is focused on Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has demonstrated an impressive performance for the Eastern Zone team. In the first innings, he reached a half-century, scoring five fours and three sixes off just 42 balls.
The Eastern Zone scored 138 runs in 21 overs. Vaibhav Suryavanshi started his contribution with singles, then gained momentum by hitting two fours off Yash Thakur in the second over. Following this, he continued his aggressive play, hitting powerful shots against loose deliveries. He completed his half-century milestone by hitting a sixteen off spinner Saransh Jain in the 15th over. This is Vaibhav's first half-century in the Duleep Trophy; previously, in his debut match against the North-Eastern Zone team, he scored only 8 runs.
The Eastern Zone won the toss under the captaincy of Ishan Kishan, who decided to bat first. The Central Zone team managed to score only 266 runs in the first innings. Rinku Singh played excellently, scoring 60 runs off 88 balls with eight fours. Aryan Jual (46 runs) and Yash Thakur (30 runs without dismissal) also made useful contributions.
From the Eastern Zone, Mukesh Kumar and Abidjit Sarkar each took three wickets. Additionally, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Kaunin Kuraiashi took two wickets each.
The Eastern Zone squad included: Abhimanyu Ishwara, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Garam, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper/captain), Virat Singh, Mohammed Kaunin Kuraiashi, Anukala Roy, Abidjit Sarkar, Mohammed Shami, and Mukesh Kumar.
The Central Zone squad consisted of: Aman Mokhade, Aryan Jual (wicketkeeper), Kunal Chandela, Yash Rathore, Rajta Patidar (captain), Rinku Singh, Saransh Jain, Harsha Dubey, Arshad Khan, Yash Thakur, and Aryan Pandey.