Gaikwad's Stellar Knock Leads West Zone Revival in Duleep Trophy Semifinal

In a thrilling display of resilience, Ruturaj Gaikwad scored an impressive 184, marking his eighth first-class century. This stellar performance guided West Zone to a formidable 363/6 in their Duleep Trophy semifinal clash against Central Zone in Bengaluru. Gaikwad's innings was a silver lining on a day when key batsmen, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shreyas Iyer, faltered.

West Zone, having won the toss, faced early setbacks with the dismissals of openers Jaiswal and Harvik Desai. However, a crucial 82-run partnership between Aarya Desai and Gaikwad stabilized the innings. Despite Shreyas Iyer's promising start, his dismissal left West Zone vulnerable at 179/5. It was the partnership between Gaikwad and Tanush Kotian that revived their innings, adding 158 runs to the board.

Meanwhile, in another semifinal match, South Zone's Narayan Jagadeesan played a pivotal role against North Zone with an unbeaten 148*. South Zone reached 297/3 by day's end after solid partnerships with Tanmay Agarwal and Devdutt Padikkal. These performances underscore the exciting competitive cricket on display in Bengaluru.

(With inputs from agencies.)