New Delhi: West Zone batter Ruturaj Gaikwad slammed a century for his side in their clash against Central Zone on Day 1 of their Duleep Trophy 2025 semi-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground in Bengaluru on Thursday. Gaikwad notched up a 131-ball hundred to rescue his team under pressure after their poor start.
The Maharashtra batter saved West Zone from a batting collapse with his terrific knock against a quality bowling attack in tricky conditions. West Zone were reeling at 10/2 after losing openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (4) and Harvik Desai (1) cheaply when Gaikwad came out to bat at no.4.
The right-hander combined with Aarya Desai (39) to share an important 83-run stand for the third wicket before stitching a 45-run partnership with Shreyas Iyer, who too was dismissed cheaply on 25 off 28 balls. Gaikwad added another valuable stand of 42 runs for the 5th wicket with Mumbai all-rounder Shams Mulani to steer his team past the 150-run mark.
The Maharashtra batter went on to complete his century off 131 balls and was unbeaten on 121 as West Zone posted 237/5 in 58 overs at the Tea break. It was Gaikwad’s eighth first-class ton as he bailed his team out of trouble on the opening day of the knockout clash.
2nd consecutive red-ball ton for Ruturaj Gaikwad
Gaikwad’s century against Central Zone is his second consecutive red-ball ton after he smashed a ton for Maharashtra in their clash against Himachal Pradesh in the Buchi Babu Trophy in Tamil Nadu last month. Gaikwad made his comeback from an injury in the tournament and got some valuable runs behind his back to prepare for the Duleep Trophy 2025.
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain suffered an elbow injury during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, where he was ruled out after the first six matches in the tournament. The Buchi Babu Trophy was Gaikwad’s first competitive appearance after his return from injury, and he has continued his fine form for West Zone in the Duleep Trophy.
While Shardul Thakur-led West Zone is taking on Central Zone in the first semi-final, South Zone, led by Mohammed Azharuddeen, is up against Ankit Kumar-led North Zone in the second semi-final of the Duleep Trophy 2025 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, Bengaluru. The winners of the two semi-finals will meet in the final of the tournament at the same venue on September 11.