Central Zone will take on East Zone in the first semi-final of Duleep Trophy 2026 at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru, starting on Sunday, August 30.
Central Zone bagged a six-wicket win in the Duleep Trophy 2025 grand finale to bag a direct semi-final spot this season. On the other hand, East Zone, captained by Ishan Kishan, bagged an innings victory over North East Zone in the first quarter-final to make it to the semi-final.
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1, Match Details
Match: Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1
Time & Date: 9:30 AM IST, August 30 to September 2
Venue: BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Probable XIs
Central Zone
Yash Rathod, Aman Mokhade, Aayush Pandey, Rajat Patidar (c), Rinku Singh, Aryan Juyal, Harsh Dubey, Arshad Khan, Zeeshan Ansari, Yash Thakur, Aryan Pandey
East Zone
Ishan Kishan (c) (wk), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Virat Singh, Anukul Roy, Shahbaz Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Abhijit K Sarkar
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Pitch Report
The captain, who won the toss, would love to bowl first and put a lot of pressure on the opposition. While new-ball bowlers will do well on this surface, batters will do well from the middle overs of the contest.
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Top Picks
Shahbaz Ahmed
All-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed scored 167 runs and scalped four wickets in the quarter-final against North East Zone.
Harsh Dubey
Spinner Harsh Dubey scalped 14 wickets from three games in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season.
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Captain picks
Aman Mokhade
In-form batter Aman Mokhade scored 760 runs from 11 innings at an average of 76 with three centuries and as many half-centuries in the Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season.
Yash Rathod
Yash Rathod amassed 645 runs from eight innings at an average of 107.5 with three centuries and as many half-centuries.
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Head to Head Dream11 team
Yash Rathod, Aman Mokhade (c), Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed (vc), Sudip Gharami, Kumar Kushagra, Harsh Dubey, Zeeshan Ansari, Yash Thakur, Aryan Pandey
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Semi-Final 1 Grand League Dream11 team
Yash Rathod (c), Aman Mokhade, Ishan Kishan, Rajat Patidar, Shahbaz Ahmed, Sudip Gharami, Kumar Kushagra, Harsh Dubey (vc), Mohammed Shami, Yash Thakur, Aryan Pandey
