South Zone vs Central Zone, DPT 2025, Today Match Prediction 11 September 2025

SZ vs CLZ Match Prediction & Analysis

It is the final of the Duleep Trophy, one of India’s most decorated domestic competitions. South Zone will be playing against Central Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, Bengaluru, from 11th September. This is the South Zone’s 23rd appearance in the final. They have won the Duleep Trophy 13 times. Central Zone has touched the trophy 6 times in 16 attempts.

South Zone produced a commanding display in the semis to secure their spot in the final. Gurjapneet Singh spearheaded the bowling effort with four wickets as they dismissed North Zone for 361 in the first innings, ensuring a hefty lead. Despite North Zone’s overnight centurion Shubham Khajuriya and Mayank Dagar’s efforts to hold firm, the resistance didn’t last long. With victory beyond reach, South’s N Jagadeesan guided them to 95 for 1 with an unbeaten half-century before both skippers settled for a draw. The strong first-innings cushion ultimately sealed South Zone’s passage to the title clash. Jagdeesan scored 197 runs in the first innings.

Central Zone ensured their place in the final by capitalizing on their strong first-innings lead against West Zone. Saransh Jain was the star of the show, first scoring an unbeaten 63 to take his side to 600, and then following it up with a superb five-wicket haul in the second innings, a total of 8 in the game. Their batting effort was built on collective consistency, with six players registering half-centuries even though none went on to score a hundred.

Both teams had played the finals of the 2014 Duleep Trophy, where Central Zone won the nail-biter by just 9 runs. KL Rahul had scored centuries in both innings of the game, yet saw his team lose from the Pavilion. 

With several top players occupied either in the Asia Cup or preparing for India A’s red-ball contests against Australia A, the Duleep Trophy 2025-26 final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru is set to have a quieter look. To fill the gaps left by their absentees, both South Zone and Central Zone have drafted in fresh faces following their semifinal outings.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

SZ

CLZ

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

South Zone Preview

South Zone has named Ricky Bhui as vice-captain and drafted in Andre Siddarth and Smaran Ravichandran for the Duleep Trophy final beginning September 11 in Bengaluru. The changes come after N Jagadeesan and Devdutt Padikkal were picked for India A’s unofficial Tests against Australia A. Jagadeesan, Player of the Match in the semifinal, played a pivotal role with scores of 197 and an unbeaten 52. Ravichandran Smaran will come in at number three. Samran averages 64 in 7 FC games played in his career.

Tanmay Agarwal will open with Mohit Kale. Agarwal has over 5000 runs in FC cricket at an average of 46 with 17 centuries. Kale scored 15 runs in the semi-final. He will have a huge task to recreate what Jagdeesan did in the semis. Rickey Bhui will come in the middle with skipper Mohammed Azharuddeen and Salman Nizar. Bhui has over 20 centuries in FC cricket. He has scored 54 runs in the last game. The South Zone will also bank on their skipper to fire in the finals. Azharuddeen has 304 runs in his last 5 First-class innings. Salman Nizar will be the batter to watch out for. He has 404 runs in his last 6 innings with two centuries.

Gurjapneet Singh will lead the bowling attack with Ankit Sharma, MD Nidheesh, and Vasuki Koushik. Singh picked up 4 wickets in the last game. He will be the bowler to watch out for. In five first-class games, he has picked up 17 wickets. MD Nidheesh has taken 22 wickets in his last five games. 

Key Players: Salman Nizar, Rickey Bhui, Gurjapneet Singh

South Zone Predicted Playing XI:

Tanmay Agarwal, Mohit Kale, Smaran Ravichandran, Ricky Bhui, Mohammed Azharuddeen (c & wk), Andre Siddarth C, Salman Nizar, Ankit Sharma, Gurjapneet Singh, MD Nidheesh, Vasuki Koushik.

South Zone Actual Playing XI:

Tanmay Agarwal, Mohammed Azharuddeen, Mohit Kale, Ricky Bhui, Salman Nizar, Gurjapneet Singh, MD Nidheesh, Vasuki Koushik, Andre Siddarth, Ankit Sharma, Smaran Ravichandran

Central Zone Preview

Central Zone has overhauled their squad with four fresh inclusions for the final. Nachiket Bhute, Kumar Kartikeya, Kuldeep Sen, and Kukna Ajay Singh have been drafted in to replace Yash Thakur, Harsh Dubey, Khaleel Ahmed, and Manav Suthar, all of whom are away on India A duty for the four-day games against Australia A in Lucknow. While their batting unit remains strong—featuring three of the tournament’s top scorers in Danish Malewar, Rajat Patidar, and Shubham Sharma—the bowling attack has taken a big hit with the absence of key frontline options.

Danish Malewar will open the innings with Akshay Wadkar. Malewar is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 294 runs, with a century and a half-century. He will be the batter to watch out for. Wadkar has an average of 50 in FC tournaments. He has scored 368 runs in the last 5 FC games. Rajat Patidar will come in at number three. The skipper has scored 268 runs in two games of this tournament. Shubham Sharma is another prospect from the South Zone who will play a crucial role in the middle after missing the century by just 4 runs in the last game.

Deepak Chahar will lead the bowling attack with Aditya Thakare, Kumar Kartikeya, and Saransh Jain. Jain is their leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets in 2 games. He will be the bowler to watch out for. Kartikeya will directly get into the playing eleven. He has 168 wickets in 38 games at an economy of 2.41.

Key Players: Saransh Jain, Rajat Patidar, Danish Malewar.

Central Zone Predicted Playing XI:

Yash Rathod, Danish Malewar, Akshay Wadkar, Rajat Patidar (c), Shubham Sharma, Upendra Yadav (wk), Saransh Jain, Deepak Chahar, Aditya Thakare, Kumar Kartikeya, Kuldeep Sen.

Central Zone Actual Playing XI:

Rajat Patidar, Yash Rathod, Danish Malewar, Shubham Sharma, Upendra Yadav, Saransh Jain, Deepak Chahar, Aditya Thakare, Kumar Kartikeya, Kuldeep Sen, Akshay Wadkar

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather at Bengaluru is expected to be cloudy on match day, with temperatures ranging between 20 and 27 degrees Celsius. Winds will blow from the southeast at 12-16 km/h. It is a balanced pitch. The bowlers will need to battle hard to restrict runs on this surface. 

SZ vs CLZ Pitch Report

The game will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground, Bengaluru, from 11th September. The stadium has a capacity of 5000 spectators and regularly hosts domestic games.

Toss: To Bat

All the matches have been drawn on this ground in this tournament. But the team batting first has an advantage. The teams defending the total have reached the next stage on all four occasions. Team winning the toss should bat first.