The Duleep Trophy, also known as IDFC First Bank Duleep trophy[1] due to sponsorship reasons, is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India. Named after former cricketer Duleepsinhji, the competition was largely contested by teams representing various geographical zones of India with few exceptions and special invitees. From 2016–17 to 2019–20, it was contested by specific teams chosen by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The championship reverted to the original format in 2022-23 following a three year hiatus due to Covid-19. South zone won the 2023 tournament and are the defending champions.

Duleep Trophy
CountriesIndia
AdministratorBCCI
FormatFirst-class cricket
First edition1961–62
Latest edition2023
Next edition2023–24
Tournament formatRound-robin and Finals
Number of teams6
Current championSouth Zone (14th title)
Most successfulWest Zone (19 titles)
Most runsWasim Jaffer (2545)
Most wicketsNarendra Hirwani (126)
WebsiteBCCI

History edit

The competition was established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in the 1961–62 season. The tournament was contested between the different geographical zones of India namely, North, South, East, West and Central. The inaugural tournament was won by West Zone who defeated South Zone in the final by ten wickets.[2] In the 1962–63 season, four of the five teams except Central Zone included a West Indian test cricketer as a part of the teams.[3][4]

The original format was that the five teams played each other on a knock-out basis. From the 1993–94 season, the competition converted to a league format before moving back to the knock-out format for four seasons.[5] The tournament again reverted to a league format for three seasons from 2000–01.[6] For the 2002–03 season, the zonal teams were replaced by five teams representing respective Ranji trophy groups but the format lasted only one season.[7] From the 2003–04 season, the five original zonal teams competed along with a sixth guest team which was a touring foreign team. The first guest team was England A in 2003–04.[8] From the 2009-10 season, the guest team was dropped, with the original five-team knockout tournament being used until the 2014–15 season.[9]

The championship was not held in 2015–16 but returned to in 2016–17 with a new format where three teams chosen by the BCCI took part, designated as Blue, Green and Red.[10] The teams played a round-robin tournament, with the top two advancing to the final. All games were staged as day-night games and used pink cricket balls. The trophy was cancelled for three seasons due to Covid-19 and the zonal format returned when it was re-started in 2022-23 with the original five zonal teams joined by a new North East zone.[11]

Composition of teams edit

Each zonal team is a composite team of cricketers who play for the Ranji Trophy state/city teams situated in that region of India. The teams which compose each zone are as follows:[12]

Winners edit

West zone with 19 trophies is the most successful team in the competition. South zone are the defending champions.[13]

Season Final
Winner Runner-up Result Final venue
1961–62 West Zone South Zone West zone won by 10 wickets Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1962–63 West Zone South Zone West zone won by an Innings and 20 runs Eden Gardens, Calcutta
1963–64 West Zone & South Zone (shared) Draw Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1964–65 West Zone Central Zone West zone won by an innings and 89 runs Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1965–66 South Zone Central Zone South zone won by an innings and 20 runs MA Chidambaram Stadium, Madras
1966–67 South Zone West Zone Draw, South zone won by first innings lead Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1967–68 South Zone West Zone Draw, South zone won by first innings lead Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1968–69 West Zone South Zone Draw, West zone won by first innings lead Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad
1969–70 West Zone North Zone West zone won by an innings and 81 runs Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
1970–71 South Zone East Zone South zone won by 10 wickets Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1971–72 Central Zone West Zone Central zone by 2 wickets Central College Ground, Bangalore
1972–73 West Zone Central Zone West zone won by an innings and 172 runs Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1973–74 North Zone Central Zone Central zone won by 76 runs Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1974–75 South Zone West Zone South zone won by 9 wickets Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad
1975–76 South Zone North Zone South zone won by 37 runs MA Chidambaram Stadium, Madras
1976–77 West Zone North Zone West zone won by 9 wickets Moti Bagh Stadium, Baroda
1977–78 West Zone North Zone Draw, West zone won by first innings lead Wankhede Stadium, Bombay
1978–79 North Zone West Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1979–80 North Zone West Zone North zone won by 104 runs Wankhede Stadium, Bombay
1980–81 West Zone East Zone Draw, West zone won by first innings lead Eden Gardens, Calcutta
1981–82 West Zone East Zone Draw, West zone won by first innings lead Brabourne Stadium, Bombay
1982–83 North Zone South Zone North zone won by 8 wickets Wankhede Stadium, Bombay
1983–84 North Zone West Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Barabati Stadium, Cuttack
1984–85 South Zone North Zone South zone won by 73 runs Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1985–86 West Zone South Zone West zone by 9 wickets M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
1986–87 South Zone West Zone Draw, South zone won by first innings lead Wankhede Stadium, Bombay
1987–88 North Zone West Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Jayanti Stadium, Bhilai
1988–89 North Zone & West Zone (shared) Draw Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
1989–90 South Zone Central Zone South zone won by 322 runs Gymkhana Ground, Secunderabad
1990–91 North Zone West Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Keenan Stadium, Jamshedpur
1991–92 North Zone West Zone North zone won by 236 runs Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Valsad
1992–93 North Zone Central Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad
1993–94 North Zone West Zone Round Robin NA
1994–95 North Zone South Zone Round Robin NA
1995–96 South Zone Central Zone Round Robin NA
1996–97 Central Zone South Zone Central zone won by 161 runs Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
1997–98 Central Zone & West Zone (shared) Draw MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
1998–99 Central Zone West Zone Central zone won by 122 runs N2 Stadium, Aurangabad
1999–2000 North Zone West Zone Draw, North zone won by first innings lead Eden Gardens, Kolkata
2000–01 North Zone Central Zone Round Robin NA
2001–02 West Zone North Zone Round Robin NA
2002–03 Elite C Plate Group B Round Robin NA
2003–04 North Zone East Zone North zone won by 59 runs Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali
2004–05 Central Zone North Zone Central zone won by nine wickets Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Nagpur
2005–06 West Zone East Zone West zone won by five wickets Sardar Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
2006–07 North Zone Sri Lanka A North zone won by eight wickets Eden Gardens, Kolkata
2007–08 North Zone West Zone North zone won by six wickets Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
2008–09 West Zone South Zone West zone won by 274 runs MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
2009–10 West Zone South Zone West zone won by three wickets Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium, Hyderabad
2010–11 South Zone North Zone South zone won by seven wickets ACA-VDCA Stadium, Visakhapatnam
2011–12 East Zone Central Zone East zone won by an innings and 20 runs Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
2012–13 East Zone Central Zone Draw, East zone won by first innings lead M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
2013–14 North Zone & South Zone (shared) Draw Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
2014–15 Central Zone South Zone Central zone won by 9 runs Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi
2016–17 India Blue India Red India Blue won by 355 runs Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, Greater Noida
2017–18 India Red India Blue India Red won by 163 runs Lucknow International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow
2018–19 India Blue India Red India Blue won by an innings and 187 runs NPR College Ground, Dindigul
2019–20 India Red India Green India Red won by an innings and 38 runs M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore
2022–23 West Zone South Zone West zone won by 294 runs SNR College Cricket Ground, Coimbatore
2023 South Zone West Zone South zone won by 75 runs M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

Statistics edit

Appearances by team edit

Team Matches Win Loss Draw Last appearance
West Zone 108 56 33 19 2022
North Zone 106 51 31 24 2022
South Zone 103 43 38 22 2022
Central Zone 97 26 45 26 2022
East Zone 87 20 45 22 2022
India Red 12 4 2 6 2019
India Blue 11 2 1 8 2019
India Green 9 0 3 6 2019
Elite Group A 4 1 0 3 2003
Elite Group B 4 1 1 2 2003
Elite Group C 4 1 0 3 2003
Plate Group A 4 0 3 1 2003
Plate Group B 4 1 0 3 2003
England A 4 1 3 0 2008
Sri Lanka A 3 2 1 0 2006
Bangladesh Board XI 2 0 1 1 2005
Zimbabwe Board XI 2 0 2 0 2005
North East Zone 1 0 0 1 2022

Finals appearances by team edit

Team Wins Appearances Win % Last win
West Zone 18 33 50.00 2009/10
North Zone 18 26 65.38 2013/14
South Zone 13 23 52.17 2013/14
Central Zone 6 16 34.37 2014/15
East Zone 2 7 28.57 2012/13
India Blue 2 3 66.67 2018/19
India Red 2 4 50.00 2019/20
Elite C 1 1 100.00 2002/03
Plate B 0 1 0.00
Sri Lanka A 0 1 0.00
India Green 0 1 0.00

Note: The Wins include the shared trophies and the win percentage counts shared as half a win.

Records and statistics edit

Batting
Most runs Wasim Jaffer West Zone, Elite B 2545
Highest score Raman Lamba North Zone 320 v West Zone (1987/88)
Most runs in a tournament Raman Lamba North Zone 659 (1987/88)
Highest average Raman Lamba North Zone 86.25
Most ducks Ashok Dinda East Zone, India Green, India Red 8
EAS Prasanna South Zone 8
Ashok Mankad West Zone 8
Narendra Hirwani Central Zone, Plate B 8
Most hundreds Anshuman Gaekwad West Zone 9
Most fifties (and over) Wasim Jaffer West Zone, Elite B 21
Highest partnership VVS Laxman & Rahul Dravid
(3rd wicket)
South Zone 409 v West Zone
Bowling
Most wickets Narendra Hirwani Central Zone, Plate B 126
Best bowling figures in an innings Debasis Mohanty East Zone 10/46 v South Zone
Best bowling figures in a match Debasis Mohanty East Zone 14/91 v South Zone
Most wickets in a series Narendra Hirwani Plate Group B 34 (2002/03)
Most 5 wickets in an innings Narendra Hirwani Central Zone, Plate B 8
Most 10 wickets in an match Narendra Hirwani Central Zone, Plate B 2
Fielding
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) Parthiv Patel West Zone, Elite C, India Green 88 (68 catches and 20 stumpings)
Most dismissals in a match (wicket-keeper) Sameer Dighe West Zone 10 (6 catches and 4 stumpings)
Most catches (fielder) Wasim Jaffer West Zone, Elite B 41
Team
Highest score North Zone v West Zone 868 (1987/88)
Lowest score North Zone v South Zone 48 (1961)
East Zone v South Zone 48 (1969)
Individual
Most matches Mohinder Amarnath North Zone 31 (1969–1988)
Most matches as captain Hanumant Singh Central Zone 15 (1966–1975)
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan South Zone 15 (1970–1979)
Most matches as an umpire Suresh Shastri 13 (1993–2013)

Most runs edit

Player Team(s) Span Mat Inns Runs Ave HS 100 50
Wasim Jaffer Elite Group B, West Zone 1997–2013 30 54 2545 55.32 173* 8 13
Vikram Rathour North Zone 1993–2002 25 45 2265 51.47 249 6 11
Anshuman Gaekwad West Zone 1974–1987 26 42 2004 52.73 216 4 2
Ajay Sharma North Zone 1984–1997 26 37 1961 57.67 202 7 9
Akash Chopra Central Zone,North Zone,Elite A 1997–2011 24 43 1918 53.27 205* 6 8
Source:ESPNcricinfo[14]

Most wickets edit

Player Team(s) Span Mat Inns Wkts Ave Econ SR BBI BBM 5 10
Narendra Hirwani Central Zone, Plate Group B 1987–2004 29 45 126 34.12 2.99 68.4 7/129 12/200 8 2
Sairaj Bahutule Elite Group B, West Zone 1993–2006 30 48 112 26.76 2.84 56.4 6/41 9/114 4 0
B. S. Chandrasekhar South Zone 1963–1979 24 41 99 24.30 2.81 51.7 8/80 10/183 7 1
Source:ESPNcricinfo[15]

Broadcasters edit

Sports18 is the official television broadcaster of Duleep trophy and holds the internet streaming rights to stream on the JioCinema app from 2023 to 2028.[16]

References edit

  1. ^ "Mastercard acquires title sponsorship rights for all BCCI international and domestic home matches". www.bcci.tv. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Final, Duleep trophy 1961-62". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  3. ^ Mohan, R; Mohan, Mohandas (2005). Cricket in India. Alton: Wisden Cricketers' Almanack. p. 1450. ISBN 0-947766-89-8.
  4. ^ "Most wickets, Duleep trophy 1962-63". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Duleep trophy 1993-94". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Duleep trophy 2001-02". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Duleep Trophy to revert back to old format". ESPNcricinfo. 1 September 2003. Retrieved 26 August 2007.
  8. ^ "Duleep trophy, 2003-04". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  9. ^ "Duleep trophy, 2009-10". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  10. ^ "Duleep trophy, 2015-16". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  11. ^ "Duleep trophy, 2022-23". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  12. ^ "Duleep trophy squads". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  13. ^ "Duleep trophy, 2023". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
  14. ^ "Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Most wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Star India wins BCCI media rights". India Today. Retrieved 21 September 2022.

External links edit