Yash Rathod's 194 gives Central Zone a firm hold

Yash Rathod missed out on his maiden first-class double ton, but his 194 was enough to give Central Zone a firm hold on the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy final in Bengaluru.

Resuming the third day on 384 for 5, ahead by 235 runs, Central Zone stretched their lead to 362, with useful contributions from Saransh Jain (69) and Deepak Chahar (37) alongside Rathod's ton. Left-arm seamer Gurjapneet Singh and left-arm spinner Ankit Sharma took four wickets apiece, but Central Zone racked up 511 in 145.1 overs.

In reply, R Smaran and Ricky Bhui maintained a positive approach as they took South Zone to 129 for 2 at stumps, still trailing by 233 runs.

The morning session on both days of the final had plenty for the fast bowlers. That wasn't the case on day three, though, with the pitch flattening out. Rathod clipped Gurjapneet through midwicket early before Jain reached his second successive fifty with a cut through point. Rathod, too, reached his 150 after the lead crossed the 250-mark.

South Zone missed a chance to send back Jain on 61 when he seemingly played and missed a flatter delivery from Ankit. Replays confirmed Jain had got a thin nick through to the wicketkeeper but none of the fielders appealed. The miss didn't cost South Zone much with Jain missing a reverse sweep off Ankit and getting bowled for 69.

Rathod, meanwhile, picked up pace. He drove V Koushik past mid-off and lifted Bhui over long-on. South Zone burnt their final review when Ankit pinned Deepak Chahar on the back foot with a quicker delivery, but the ball was sliding down leg.

Having defended and prodded enough, Chahar took on Ankit, depositing him over long-on and then slashing him through point before going after Gurjapneet through mid-off and cover in an over.

Rathod looked fidgety after lunch, and his luck ran out when Gurjapneet got a length ball to nip back sharply into the batter, breaching his defence to end a 286-ball knock. Central Zone lost their last four wickets in 11 runs as Ankit wrapped up the innings. He toiled 44.1 overs and took 4 for 180, while Gurjpaneet picked up 4 for 124 in 28 overs.

With no major alarms in the pitch, South Zone started their second innings confidently. Chahar and Aditya Thakare got a hint of movement, but Tanmay Agarwal and Mohit Kale kept things steady. Kale was circumspect initially, but back-to-back flicks for four against Chahar got him going. He reeled off four fours in the next three overs as South Zone went into tea on 57 for 0, trailing Central Zone by 305 runs.

Jain got Central Zone the first breakthrough after tea, trapping Kale lbw with a quicker delivery. Smaran, in at No. 3, pulled and drove Kuldeep Sen twice in three balls, but the fast bowler struck at the other end. Agarwal shouldered arms to Sen, only to find the off bail getting dislodged.

With the ball gripping and turning, Bhui and Smaran counterattacked against the spinners and found the boundaries regularly. Smaran had a close shave when he was given out lbw to Jain, but a tiny inside edge onto the pad saved him. The duo added an unbroken 53-run stand for the third wicket before bad light ended the third day 25 minutes early.