After maiden Test call-up, N Jagadeesan lights up Duleep Trophy with sensational ton

Narayan Jagadeesan lit up the Duleep Trophy with a sensational century, guiding South Zone to a dominating position on Day 1 of the first semi final at BCCI CEG Ground. Jagadeesan remained unbeaten on 148* (260), with the help of 13 fours and two sixes as his team finished Day 1 on 297/3.

His century comes a month after he earned his maiden Test call-up for the fifth and final game of the England series at the Oval after Rishabh Pant was ruled out due to toe fracture. However, Jagadeesan didn’t get a chance to feature in the playing XI with Dhruv Jurel already present as the second choice wicketkeeper.

Jagadeesan found good company in his opening partner Tanmay Agarwal as the duo added 103 runs for the first wicket. He further forged a massive 128-run stand for the second wicket with Devdutt Padikkal (57 off 41), bringing his team into a dominating position.

Jagadeesan has scored 3,521 runs from 52 first-class matches, including 10 centuries and 14 half-centuries, at an average of 49.59. Earlier, he featured in the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2025 (TNPL 2025) for Chepauk Super Gillies and scored 180 runs from seven innings with a highest score of 81 (41).

He also had a good season for Tamil Nadu in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25, accumulating 674 runs from 13 innings at an average of 56.16 with two hundreds and five fifties to his name.

Meanwhile, in the second semi-final, West Zone finished the day on 363/6 after a splendid ton from Ruturaj Gaikwad, who scored 184 (206) with the help of 25 fours and a six. He was well-supported by Tanush Kotian (65*), who took the team to stumps along with captain Shardul Thakur (24*).