Overview
- West Zone closed on 363/6 against Central after Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 184 off 206 balls, with Tanush Kotian unbeaten on 65 and captain Shardul Thakur 24 not out.
- Central left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed removed Yashasvi Jaiswal for 4 in the first over and later bowled Shreyas Iyer for 25, while Deepak Chahar and Saransh Jain also struck.
- South Zone reached 297/3 against North as Narayan Jagadeesan finished 148 not out, adding stands of 103 with Tanmay Agarwal and 128 with Devdutt Padikkal; only 81 overs were possible.
- West chose to bat in Bengaluru but slipped to 10/2 after Jaiswal and Harvik Desai fell early, before Gaikwad rebuilt through partnerships across the middle order.
- Squads were reshaped by absences, with Kuldeep Yadav unavailable due to Asia Cup selection and Sarfaraz Khan out injured, and reports varied on Central wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel’s availability.