How to add a certificate to your domain in DigitalOcea

I have set up a VPS droplet in Digital Ocean with a domain name (I got a free domain and it has been published) and I’m trying to obtain an SSL certificate for the domain using ZeroSSL. The domain verification always fails (domain verification using DNS (CNAME)). It shows the error " We were unable to verify your CNAME entry. Please check for errors on your side and try again after 5-10 minutes. " When setting up the SSL certificate at ZeroSSL, I was asked to choose the verification method out of the options - Email verification, DNS (CNAME) and HTTP file upload. As I don not have an email set up with the domain and the HTTP upload option is unclear to me, I chose the DNS (CNAME) verification method. The Name, Address to point to, and TTL values for the new CNAME record which ZeroSSL asks me to add under the DNS (CNAME) verification method have been entered correctly as a new CNAME record in DigtalOcean but the verification test keeps failing. These were added as a new DNS record under the CNAME tab in the Domains section in the DigitalOcean control panel. I have sent an email to ZeroSSL support but some annoying bot responded. I have also gone though a bunch of YouTube videos but I don’t see any clues there. I really need urgent help. Thanks. See attached the snapshot of the CNAME record added in DigitalOcean as part of the domain. Thanks.