Harsh Dubey's aggressive 75 and Upendra Yadav's patient 87 forged a crucial 134-run sixth-wicket partnership, steering Central Zone to a commanding 118-run first-innings lead against West Zone on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy semifinal here, positioning them firmly for a spot in the final.

At stumps, Central stood at 556 for eight, surpassing West's 438. Saransh Jain (37*) and Yash Thakur (4*) were unbeaten after Deepak Chahar's gritty 33 ended in the day's penultimate over.

Resuming at 229/2, Central's Rajat Patidar (77) and Shubham Sharma (96) extended their stand to 127, but a middle-order wobble saw them slump from 287/2 to 322/5. Patidar fell sweeping to Dharmendra Jadeja (4/101), Yash Rathod (2) was caught brilliantly by Ruturaj Gaikwad, and Sharma was run out agonisingly short of a century by Tanush Kotian's direct hit.

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Dubey and Yadav then turned the tide with contrasting styles: Dubey's flair yielded a 62-ball fifty, including five early boundaries, while Yadav, dropped on 37, reached his half-century in 84 balls. Their alliance propelled Central past West's total, celebrated in the dressing room, before Dubey edged out Shams Mulani off Jadeja.

After a brief rain delay, Chahar and Jain added quick runs for the eighth wicket, frustrating West further despite Arzan Nagwaswalla's pace. Central amassed 129 runs in the first session's 36 overs, closing the gap swiftly, and maintained momentum to dominate the day.

With a substantial lead and two wickets in hand, Central are on the cusp of victory, eyeing a clash with the winners of the East-South semifinal in the Duleep final.

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