That's it from our coverage of the Duleep Trophy 2025-26. Ninaad Dixit here signing off on behalf of scorer Sachin Yadav. Stay tuned for more action from around the world.
Rajat Patidar collects the series trophy from VVS Laxman! Poses for the picture and then invites his team to pose together! Central Zone - The Champions of Duleep Trophy 2025-26!
Rajat Patidar (Central Zone Captain): "We have a bunch of players who have shown great character throughout the series. Our bowlers have made life difficult for the batters on batting friendly surfaces as well.
This wicket was slightly dry so we decided to bowl first. We wanted to bowl them as early as possible and that made the game easier for us.
We predicted that it will help the fast bowlers. I had to use a spinner to see how it was responding but it helped more spinners rather than the fast bowlers.
I enjoyed a lot of Yash and Danish the way they batted. I am really happy for them. We have played a lot of matches together Kartikey and Saransh. They are very difficult to play on this pitch."
Azharuddeen collects the runners up trophy and Rajat Patidar gets his winning medal.
Mohammed Azharuddeen (South Zone Captain): "There were lots of ifs and buts. We will learn from this and have a great season ahead. This is not the end of the world, we will get better.
It was turning a lot, it was very difficult. Their spinners were hitting the right length. It's all a learning curve. Things would have been different if we played with another spinner but there is no pin pointing. We lost as a team and we take the loss as a team.
All of us have really done well in Ranji Trophy and are experienced player. There is no giving up easily, we are proud of the fight."
Saransh Jain (Player of the Series): "I am happier with my bowling performance in the semifinal. I am a proper allrounder. You can't just play as a bowler, you have to contribute as a batter as well.
Me and Kartikeya targeted the good areas, we planned well and executed. There was some assistance from the surface as well.
The batters get confused if we keep changing angles and the ball was turning as well. We didn't want to keep it easy for them. If a spinner can deceive a batter in flight, he is a premium spinner."