In the final of the 2025 season of the Duleep Trophy, South Zone and Central Zone met at the Centre of Excellence of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in Bengaluru. Both sides came into the fixture after their respective drawn fixtures against North Zone and West Zone at the same venue. Central Zone’s captain, Rajat Patidar, won the toss and decided to bowl first on a green surface.

The expectation from Patidar and co. was to get early wickets with the ball in the open field under cloudy conditions. For the South Zone, they made three changes with Andre Siddarth C, Ankit Sharma, and Smaran Ravichandran coming into the eleven.

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On the other hand, for the Central Zone, Akshay Wadkar, Aditya Thakare, Kumar Kartikeya, and Kuldeep Sen came into the playing eleven. After 27 runs of the opening stand, Mohit Kale got out to Kartikeya, who, from the very first delivery, was getting help with spin on the surface.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Final Round: All Scores from Day 1

Tanmay Agarwal got out for 31 runs in 76 balls with the help of three boundaries. However, his run-out on 47 runs on the fifth delivery of the 26th over broke the momentum. The middle order couldn’t stand with the bat as Salman Nizar was only the second batter of the line-up to go past the 20-run mark. Ankit Verma got 20 runs in 64 balls with two boundaries as they were bundled out for 149 runs in 63 overs of the first innings. 

Saransh Jain celebrated his five wickets in 24 overs for 49 runs at an economy rate of two, while he was well supported by the left-arm spinner, Kumar Kartikeya, who picked up four wickets for 53 runs in 21 overs, including one maiden at an economy rate of 2.50. Central Zone started their batting at the start of the third session.

Central batted well for the last session to end with 50/0 in 19 overs to reduce the deficit by 99 runs.

Duleep Trophy 2025 Final Round: All Scores from Day 1

Central Zone- 50/0 (Danish Malewar 28*) trail South Zone- 149/10 (Tanmay Agarwal 31, Salman Nazir 24, Saransh Jain 5/49, Kumar Kartikeya 4/53) by 99 runs at Stumps on Day 1.

At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) faced a tough outing against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their IPL 2025 encounter, suffering a comprehensive nine-wicket defeat. The match featured an intense moment between RR’s left-arm spinner, Kumar Kartikeya, and RCB’s legendary batter, Virat Kohli, where a tense on-field exchange took place. However, Kartikeya maintained his composure admirably, diffusing the situation with calm and earning Kohli’s respect in the process.

Despite the heavy loss, Kartikeya stood out as RR's most impactful player. Brought in as an impact substitute, he was the only bowler to take a wicket in RCB’s dominant chase. His crucial breakthrough came when he dismissed the dangerous Phil Salt, who had already hammered 65 runs off just 33 balls. Kartikeya’s smart short delivery forced Salt into a mistimed shot that landed safely in the deep, offering RR a glimmer of hope.

Though RCB comfortably sailed to victory, the dismissal marked a small moral victory for Kartikeya. His calm demeanor and effective bowling under pressure did not go unnoticed. As Salt exited the field, Kohli acknowledged Kartikeya’s efforts by extending a courteous handshake, a gesture that highlighted the spirit of sportsmanship and mutual respect between the players—even in a one-sided contest.

KK x VK: A short story. 💗🤝😂 pic.twitter.com/R6bxYaM3oj

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 14, 2025

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How Kartikeya Kept His Calm

During an earlier instant of the match, Salt hit a six against Kartikeya, which made Kohli exclaim, "Come on," before the dual interaction occurred. Kartikeya sustained his concentration and refrained from responding to Kohli even after the direct eye contact. After Kartaikya sent Salt away from the game, he cheered his personal "Come on!" call to express his pleasure. The cricketer then corrected his words by saying, "Bhaiya, aapko nahi bol raha," which received Kohli's acknowledgment before praising Kartikeya's bowling performance. Kartikeya recorded 1/25 in his three-over spell, which became a highlight during the challenging match for Rajasthan Royals.

Kohli led RCB to a 15-ball victory with his unbeaten 62 off 45 balls, which represented their fourth away success of the season. Kartikeya demonstrated his composure through the match to avoid confrontation while earning the respect of his opponent.