By the end of the third day of the final of the Duleep Trophy 2025 between South Zone and Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, Central Zone posted a huge score of 511 runs in their first inning with a lead of over 350 runs, as Yash Rathod missed the chance to celebrate his double century.

In reply, South Zone was at a decent spot with 129/2. Smaran Ravichandran, the number three batter, who was unbeaten on 37 runs, stretched his knock to 67 runs with the help of seven boundaries and one six at a strike rate of 56.78. But he couldn’t convert this start to a huge score, unlike the Central Zone batters.

See Also: [WATCH] 'Rohit Sharma as opener is...'- Mohammed Shami comments on India ODI captain's greatness

The same trend continued in the middle order of the side. Ricky Bhui was dismissed for 45 runs in 85 balls at a strike rate of 52.94, thanks to four boundaries and two sixes, while their captain and wicket-keeper batter, Mohammed Azharuddeen, cracked 27 runs in 40 balls. They were suddenly reduced to 222/6.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Final Round: All Scores from Day 4

Just when it felt like the game would end quickly, Ankit Sharma and Andre Siddharth shouldered the responsibility. They posted a partnership of over 100 runs while celebrating their respective half-centuries in the scorecard. Both the opponent spinners, Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain, were getting help off the surface, but that wasn’t enough to break the stand.

However, the fairytale period ended as Ankit Sharma got dismissed on unlucky 99. He looked to reach the landmark by hoicking it over the mid-wicket region, but couldn’t cross the fielder. In the next over, Gurjapneet Singh got caught as suddenly the South Zone was pushed to the end.

The stumped-out dismissal of Vasuki Koushik brought the curtains down for 426 runs as Andre remained undefeated on 84 runs with seven fours. The umpires called it the end of the day with Central Zone needing 65 runs for victory on the fifth and final day of the fixture.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Final Round: All Scores from Day 4

South Zone- 426 (Ankit Sharma 99, Andre Siddarth 84*, Kumar Kartikeya 4/110, Saransh Jain 3/130) & 149/10 (Tanmay Agarwal 31, Salman Nazir 24, Saransh Jain 5/49, Kumar Kartikeya 4/53) lead Central Zone 511 (Yash Rathod 194, Rajat Patidar 101, Gurjapneet Singh 4/124) by 65 runs at Stumps on Day 4.