new delhi, Aug 28
Left-arm spinner Manishi’s three-wicket burst and a quickfire fifty from Ayush Badoni headlined the opening day of the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy clash between East Zone and North Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. At the neighbouring CE Ground B, a majestic 198 not out from Danish Malewar and skipper Rajat Patidar’s 125 powered Central Zone to a commanding 432/2 against Northeast Zone before bad light forced early stumps.
Put in to bat on a cloudy morning, North Zone openers Ankit Kumar (leading in Shubman Gill’s absence) and Shubham Khajuria gave a steady start, but Manishi struck thrice before lunch – all lbw – to derail the innings.
Yash Dhull and Badoni added 67 for the third wicket, before Badoni followed it up with a 61-run stand alongside Nishant Sindhu.
Badoni top-scored with a breezy 63 off 60 balls (7 fours), while Sindhu chipped in with 47. At stumps, North were 308/6, with Kanhaiya Wadhawan (42) and Mayank Dagar (28) unbeaten.
For East, Manishi claimed three wickets, while Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami and Mukhtar Hussain took one apiece.
Malewar’s unbeaten 198 steals the show
At CE Ground B, 21-year-old Vidarbha batter Danish Malewar produced a career-best unbeaten 198, continuing his purple patch after a string of recent big scores. He struck 35 fours and a six in his 219-ball stay, sharing a massive stand with Patidar.
Patidar, standing in as captain for the injured Dhruv Jurel, played with trademark fluency. Coming in after opener Aryan Juyal retired hurt on 60, the RCB skipper blazed to a 80-ball hundred before being dismissed for 125 off 96 deliveries, laced with 21 boundaries and three sixes.
Yash Rathod (32*) partnered Malewar at the close as Central ended the day in a dominant position after just 77 overs. For NEZ, only Akash Choudhary (1/73) and Pheiroijam Jotin (1/56) managed breakthroughs.
Big names absent
The opening round also saw several notable absentees — Shubman Gill (North Zone), Dhruv Jurel (Central Zone), and Abhimanyu Easwaran (East Zone).
Gill, down with illness, was replaced by Shubham Rohilla, with Ankit Kumar stepping in as captain. Jurel missed out due to a groin niggle, handing leadership to Patidar. Easwaran sat out with fever, with Riyan Parag leading East Zone in his place.
