Rajat Patidar , the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy -winning captain, hailed the "great character" shown by Central Zone not just in the final but throughout the tournament. He particularly heaped praise on the two spinners, Kumar Kartikeya and Saransh Jain , who shared 16 wickets between them in the final as Central Zone won their first Duleep Trophy title since 2014-15 by defeating South Zone by six wickets.

"They have played a lot of matches together, Kartikeya and Saransh [for Madhya Pradesh] and they have the skill and are very difficult to play on this pitch," Patidar said after the game. "The track was really good to bat and our bowlers dominated and made it tough for the other team. That was a positive sign."

It's been a flawless tournament for Central Zone, where they cruised thr

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