Both Duleep Trophy semi-finals got underway at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, and Day 1 produced a tight, bowler-friendly contest in each match — East Zone and North Zone will resume in the field with real hope of building first-innings leads.
Batting first, Central Zone were bowled out for 266 on the stroke of stumps, with Rinku Singh playing the anchor role for a gritty 60. It was a lower-order rally that gave the total its final shape — an unbeaten 30 off 26 balls from Yash Thakur anchored a 45-run last-wicket stand that pushed Central past 250 after the middle order had struggled to build partnerships. East Zone's attack shared the wickets around: Abhijit Sarkar took 3/38, Mukesh Kumar 3/56, and Mohammed Shami chipped in with 2/42 from 16 overs, continuing the tidy, wicket-taking form he showed in East Zone's quarter-final demolition of North East Zone.
The second semi-final followed a similar pattern. North Zone were bowled out for 195 in 59.1 overs, with Vidwath Kaverappa taking 4/66 the difference between a competitive total and something far larger. Opener Qamran Iqbal was the lone substantial contributor, making 76, with useful support from a 53-run stand with Ayush Doseja and a further 66-run partnership with captain Kanhaiya Wadhawan (35) — but North Zone still collapsed late, losing their last six wickets for just 34 runs in the final session. By the close, South Zone had reached 40/2 from 18 overs in reply, still trailing by 155 with two full days of cricket to come.
Neither total from Day 1 is out of reach for the side batting second, which is exactly what a four-day semi-final on a used Bengaluru surface should produce. Central Zone's 266 gives East Zone something to chase down calmly rather than a target that forces risk; North Zone's 195, while more modest, still leaves South Zone with real work to do simply to draw level, let alone build a first-innings lead. The next two sessions in each match — how East Zone's top order plays the new ball, and whether South Zone can turn 40/2 into something substantial — will likely decide which sides reach the final.
With Ishan Kishan, Mohammed Shami and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi all part of East Zone's squad, and Rajat Patidar and Tilak Varma captaining Central Zone and South Zone respectively, this semi-final round carries plenty of names with recent India selection relevance — exactly the kind of domestic form selectors will be watching as India's squads for the rest of the season take shape.
Follow session-by-session updates from both semi-finals on SportGod's live matches page, and browse more cricket coverage across the domestic season.
Day 1 scores, partnerships and bowling figures are verified against same-day tournament coverage from Bengaluru, August 30-31, 2026.
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