Overview

• Central Zone closed Day 1 on 432/2 against North East Zone, led by Danish Malewar’s unbeaten 198 and captain Rajat Patidar’s 125 off 96 balls.
• Central’s designated skipper Dhruv Jurel was ruled out with a groin niggle on selectors’ advice, given his Asia Cup standby status.
• East Zone captain Abhimanyu Easwaran missed the quarter-final with fever, with Riyan Parag stepping in as stand-in captain.
• Patidar, captaining in Jurel’s absence, smashed an 80-ball century to reinforce his case for an India recall as domestic form takes center stage.
• North Zone were also without Shubman Gill due to illness, leaving Ankit Kumar to lead as their clash with East Zone ended 308/6, where Mohammed Shami took a wicket on his red-ball return.