East Zone book final berth, set to face North or South Zone champion

The Dhalip Trophy 2026 semifinal on September 1 in Bangalore saw East Zone emerge victorious over Central Zone by four wickets, earning a spot in the tournament final.

Central Zone won the toss and posted 266 runs. Rinku Singh’s 60, Aryan Juyal’s 46 and Yash Thakur’s unbeaten 30 were the top contributions. Early breakthroughs came from Mukesh Kumar (3/56) and Abhijit Sarkar (3/3), while Mohammad Shami and Kounen Qureshi each took two wickets.

East Zone matched the total with 266 runs. Vaibhav Suryavanshi (92) and Abhimanyu Ishwaran (69) built a 162‑run opening partnership, the cornerstone of the chase. Sudip Kumar added 25. For Central Zone, Harsh Dubey claimed four wickets, and Aryan Pandey and Yash Thakur each secured three.

Central’s second innings folded at 158, after a shaky start of 97/8. A brief resistance from Arshad Khan and Harsh Dubey added 43 runs, but wickets fell quickly. Mukesh Kumar’s all‑round effort of 44 runs and four wickets swung the momentum. Mohammad Shami took three additional wickets.

In the chase, East Zone’s opening pair contributed 61 runs. After Vaibhav’s dismissal, Kumar Kushagra anchored the innings, partnering with Virat Singh for 28 runs and with captain Ishan Kishan for 31, bringing the score to 124.

Kushagra (22) and Anukool Roy were the last wickets to fall, but Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 39, punctuated by five fours, sealed the win. Harsh Dubey added a valuable 53 runs and took four wickets, while Saransh Jain and Yash Thakur each claimed one.

Mukesh Kumar, the tournament’s leading wicket‑taker with seven dismissals, was awarded Player of the Match. The final will be contested at Chennai’s M.A. Chidambaram Stadium from September 6, with East Zone meeting the winner of Semifinal 2 (North Zone versus South Zone).