East Zone need just four more wickets to win the Duleep Trophy title against South Zone, after Ishan Kishan’s career-best 270 set up a dominant position.
East Zone’s first innings score of 708, which included a century from Kumar Kushagra alongside Kishan’s double-hundred, left South Zone well behind after their reply of 336.
South Zone captain Tilak Varma made 99, just short of a century, and Chama Milind added 43, while Mohammed Shami took 2 for 17 with the ball.
East Zone chose not to enforce the follow-on despite a 372-run lead, batting again and reaching 212 for 5, with Kishan unbeaten on 48.
Playing under the Duleep Trophy’s first-innings lead rule, East Zone are set to be crowned champions once the remaining South Zone wickets fall.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the teenage batting prospect who earned a maiden national T20 call-up earlier this year, was among East Zone’s top order in the second innings.
The final is being played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, a venue with a long history of hosting high-profile domestic and international matches.
The Duleep Trophy is contested between India’s domestic cricket zones and is played under first-class conditions, serving as a proving ground for players aiming to break into the national side.
Ishan Kishan’s 270 in East Zone’s first innings is a career-best score and one of the highest individual totals recorded in the tournament’s history.
Kumar Kushagra’s century alongside Kishan’s double-hundred anchored East Zone’s mammoth 708, putting South Zone under pressure from the outset of the match.
The Duleep Trophy final is being played under the tournament’s first-innings lead rule, meaning a draw would hand the title to whichever side leads after the first innings.
South Zone’s reply of 336 featured a fighting 99 from captain Tilak Varma, who fell agonisingly short of a century, and 43 from Chama Milind.
M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
