The quarter finals of the Duleep Trophy 2025 are over, with two teams moving onto the semi-finals. On the basis of the first innings lead, North Zone and Central Zone confirmed their tickets to play in the semi-final round. 

The match between North Zone and East Zone turned out to be a one-sided affair. Ayush Badoni (204 not out) scored a double ton and remained not out on the wicket, while skipper Ankit Kumar (198) and Yash Dhull (133) settled for hundred-plus knocks. East Zone with their star bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar failed to impress with their bowling. Manishi surprised in the first innings of the multi-day match by taking 6 wickets, but in the second phase of the match he remained wicketless. 

The Central Zone vs Northeast Zone games were comparatively more competitive than the other match. The Northeast Zone tried their best to possibly turn around, but the Central Zone did not lose their grip on the match. Skipper Rajat Patidar's century and Danish Malewar's double century helped Central Zone to create a comfortable first innings lead. 

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Duleep Trophy 2025 Quarterfinal results:

Quarter Final 1: North Zone vs East Zone: 28 Aug - 31 Aug 2025, 9:30 IST, BCCI COE Ground 1, Bengaluru- 

North Zone: 405 (93.2 Ov) and 658/4 d (146.2 Ov)

East Zone: 230 (56.1 Ov)

Quarter Final 2: Central Zone vs NortheastZone: 28 Aug - 31 Aug 2025, 9:30 IST, BCCI COE Ground 2, Bengaluru-

Central Zone: 532/4 d (102.0 Ov) and 331/7 d (80.3 Ov)

NortheastZone: 200/6 (58.0 Ov) and 185 (69.3 Ov)

Duleep Trophy 2025 upcoming fixtures:

Semifinal 1: South Zone vs. North Zone: 4 Sep - 7 Sep 2025, 9:30 IST, BCCI COE Ground 1, Bengaluru.

Semifinal 2: West Zone vs. Central Zone: 4 Sep - 7 Sep 2025, 9:30 IST, BCCI COE Ground 2, Bengaluru. 

The hope turns into reality. The pace bowling all-rounder from Jammu and Kashmir put East Zone in disarray in the ongoing Duleep Trophy 2025 clash. Auqib Nabi, the J&K player representing the North Zone, took a hat trick. 

East Zone then was trying to make a comeback with Virat Singh. Singh's half century came at the right time of the innings. His fifty-plus-run knock took the match into an interesting point. When Virat was batting on 69, Nabi struck. That was a huge blow for East Zone. Virat was the only batter who was well settled on the track for their side. 

Nabi spared no time to take two more wickets back-to-back. By taking the wickets of Manishi and Mukhtar Hussain, the all-rounder completed his hat trick. After a couple of overs, Nabi again made a cut; this time it was time for Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal to go back to the dugout. 

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After the sudden impact, East Zone's innings came to an end for 230 runs against North Zone's first innings of 405. Auqib, in his 10.1-over spell, clinched 5 wickets for 28 runs and one maiden over. 

Who is Auqib Nabi?

28-year-old Nabi has gained ample experience playing for Jammu and Kashmir in domestic cricket. The pace bowling all-rounder is known for his quick-fire batting abilities and economical bowling. Against Kerala in a 2025 Ranji Trophy fixture, he scored 32 runs and picked 6 wickets in the first innings.

During the historic win against Mumbai, Nabi again proved himself as a key figure. In the first innings, he took a couple of wickets, and then in the second innings, he secured another 4 wickets. Star Mumbai batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, and Shardul Thakur fell short against the promising all-rounder.

North Zone is currently leading the race against East Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025. In the first innings of the match, when East Zone was heavily dependent on Manishi, an emerging spinner, North Zone wrapped up their innings after a pure team game. Without any century or crazy batting, they registered 405 runs for 10 wickets. 

Kanhaiya Wadhawan was the highest scorer in the phase of the game for the North Zone with 76 runs, while another player from Jammu and Kashmir, Auqib Nabi, chipped in with a quick 44-run inning. Both J&K cricketers Kanhaiya and Auqib are considered highly talented prospects in domestic cricket. 

Who is Kanhaiya Wadhawan?

Kanhaiya is a 23-year-old keeper-batter hailing from Jammu, currently representing North Zone in the Duleep Trophy 2025 against East Zone. According to stats from ESPNcricinfo, the middle-order batter so far played 4 First Class matches and 8 innings to score 310 runs, including a highest score of 84 at an average of 44.28. His last couple of FC matches with J&K were absolutely phenomenal. Against Baroda in Vadodara, he scored 71 & 84 in the first and second innings, respectively. In the next match, which was against Kerala, the emerging cricketer went in the middle to score 48 & 64 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium. 

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Kanhaiya made his FC debut in 2018 when he played a 24-run knock in his first FC appearance for J&K. During the previous Ranji Trophy season, Jammu and Kashmir stunned cricket fans when they took down a heavyweight Mumbai cricket team to ensure a 5-wicket win. Wadhawan was a crucial part of the game. He remained firm on the track and scored an unbeaten 19 to achieve the historic win. 

Who is Auqib Nabi?

28-year-old Nabi has gained ample amount of experience playing for Jammu and Kashmir in domestic cricket. The pace bowling allrounder known for his quick fire batting abilities and economical bowling. Against Kerala in a Ranji Trophy 2025 fixture, he scored 32 runs and picked 6 wickets in the first innings. During the historic win against Mumbai, Nabi again proved himself as a key figure. In the first innings he took a couple of wickets and then in the second innings, he ensured another 4 wickets. Star Mumbai batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur fell short against the promising allrounder. 

Shubman Gill, the Indian Test captain, had an incredible last seven weeks in England during the five-match red-ball series, where he drew the series by a 2-2 margin besides ending as the leading run-getter of the trip with 754 runs in 10 innings at an average of 75.40 and a strike rate of 65.67, shouldering on four centuries. He will now lead the North Zone side for the season-opening Duleep Trophy tournament. 

The event returning to the six-zonal format, he will be joined by the Punjab and Haryana pacers, Arshdeep Singh and Anshul Kamboj, from the national red-ball squad that recently grabbed an incredible six-run victory at the Kennington Oval. Gill’s four centuries in the UK are the most by any captain in an away Test series, as he joined the legendary Donald Bradman and Sunil Gavaskar as the only leaders to get the feat. 

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This will be the first time that the Punjab-born will lead the team in the event, having recorded appearances for India Blue and India A in the five clashes in the past. In the previous season, the youngster captained the Duleep Trophy Team A side during the one fixture at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, when he smacked 25 and 21 during the 76-run defeat.  

Shubman Gill will lead North Zone squad for Duleep Trophy 2025

In the North Zone squad, six members of Jammu and Kashmir will be part of it, while Haryana’s Ankit Kumar has been appointed as Gill’s deputy. Shubham Rohilla will replace Shubman Gill, Gurnoor Brar will replace Arshdeep Singh, and Anuj Thakral will replace Harshit Rana in case any India commitments come during the tournament.

Delhi’s Ayush Badoni will be an interesting member of the squad. In 21 first-class innings, the right-handed batter has drilled 1063 runs at an average of nearly 56 and a strike rate of 82, thanks to three fifties and as many centuries at the best score of unbeaten 205 runs.

North Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy 2025

Shubman Gill (c), Shubham Khajuria, Ankit Kumar (vc), Ayush Badoni, Yash Dhull, Ankit Kalsi, Nishant Sindhu, Sahil Lotra, Mayank Dagar, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Anshul Kamboj, Auqib Nabi, Kanhaiya Wadhawan (wk).