Before the final ball of the 18th over, Mukesh Kumar walked up to Mohammed Shami. Stumps were approaching, Rajat Patidar and Aman Mokhade were looking to see out the day, and Sudip Gharami stood at silly point.

Whatever was discussed worked immediately.

Mukesh banged the ball in, much like the delivery with which he had dismissed Patidar in the first innings. This one was straighter, cramping the Central Zone captain for room as he tried to guide it towards third man. The ball took the inside edge and crashed into the stumps. Patidar was gone for 5, Central were 37 for 3, and Mukesh walked over to Shami afterward and tried to touch his feet.

It was a fitting late twist to a day on which neither side managed to hold control for long.

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After East Zone were bowled out for 266, leaving the first-innings scores level, Mukesh and Abhijit Sarkar put Central under pressure. Their disciplined opening spells gave the batsmen little room to score, before Mukesh drew Kunal Chandela forward and found his outside edge for two.

Shami replaced Sarkar in the eighth over and kept up the pressure. His seam movement accounted for Aryan Juyal, caught in the slips, before Mukesh returned to remove Patidar. He almost had Mokhade too, when the opener was given lbw, only for a review to show the ball missing the stumps.

Mokhade survived to reach 23 not out, but at 45 for 3 after 20 overs, Central ended the day only 45 runs ahead.

Earlier, at 161 for 0, East were well and truly on top, threatening to take full control of the game. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had dismantled Central’s attack, while Abhimanyu Easwaran stayed calm at the other end.

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Sooryavanshi’s 92 off 81 balls had left Central searching for answers. The 15-year-old went after Yash Thakur from the outset, driving him through cover and straight down the ground before lofting him over his head for six. Anything short or wide was punished, forcing Patidar to station a deep point inside the first ten overs.

Spin didn’t slow him down either. Dropped on 40, after Saransh Jain deceived him in flight, Sooryavanshi stayed on the attack, reaching fifty in 42 balls to become the youngest batsman to score a Duleep Trophy fifty. He then raced into the 90s with a mix of reverse-sweeps and shots over mid-wicket.

Easwaran was the perfect contrast. He drove neatly when offered width, worked the ball through the leg side, and reached fifty from 70 balls with a sweep off Dubey. While Central tried to contain Sooryavanshi, Easwaran kept accumulating without taking risks.

Dubey finally opened the door. Sooryavanshi tried to clear the fielder at deep mid-wicket but picked out Arshad Khan. The next delivery brought another wicket, Kumar Kushagra edging to Mokhade at gully. East still went to lunch at 183 for 2, but Central finally had something to work with.

After lunch, Aryan Pandey kicked the door wide open.

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The Madhya Pradesh seamer found better rhythm and kept attacking a good length. Easwaran, who offered little, was trapped for 69 by one that cut back sharply. Patidar reviewed a subdued appeal, and ball-tracking returned three reds.

Pandey then found Virat Singh’s outside edge as the left-hander tried to drive, before removing Sudip Gharami a few balls later. The ball angled in before straightening off the seam to take Gharami’s edge. In around 15 minutes, East had slipped from 200 for 2 to 213 for 5.

At the other end, Dubey complemented the pacer and kept Central on top. The left-arm spinner settled into a probing spell, repeatedly landing the ball on a testing length and making the batsmen play.

That control mattered after the morning’s carnage. East had attacked almost at will during the opening stand, but Dubey steadily squeezed the scoring. From around the wicket, he found enough turn, while his fuller deliveries outside off and around the stumps kept the batsmen guessing. Central built pressure from both ends, making it difficult to rotate strike or find boundaries.

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The rewards followed. After taking two wickets before lunch, Dubey returned to remove Anukul Roy, stumped for 16 as East attempted a rebuild. He then dismissed Abhijit Sarkar after tea, finishing with 4 for 66 from 16 overs.

Yash Thakur’s day followed a different path. His first spell was expensive and erratic, Sooryavanshi punishing his width and short balls. But he recovered once Central fought their way back.

Thakur removed captain Ishan Kishan for 16, when the left-hander tried to cut without enough room and edged to Kunal Chandela at slip. He then used the short ball to dismiss Kounain Quraishi, before taking the final wicket.

From 161 for 0, East lost all ten wickets for 105 runs and could only match Central’s 266. Sooryavanshi’s dismissal opened the door, Pandey’s removal of Easwaran kicked it wide open, and Dubey’s sustained control, along with Thakur’s recovery, completed the turnaround.

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Brief scores:

Central Zone 266 and 45 for 3 in 20 overs (Aman Mokhade 23 not out; Mukesh Kumar 2/14, Mohammed Shami 1/13) lead East Zone 266 all out in 57 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 92, Abhimanyu Easwaran 69; Harsh Dubey 4/66, Aryan Pandey 3/43, Yash Thakur 3/66) by 45 runs.

At CoE Ground 2: North Zone 195 trail South Zone 285 for 9 in 94 overs (Tilak Varma 106 not out, Shreyas Gopal 87; Gurnoor Brar 4/70) by 90 runs.