East Zone End 13-Year Wait, Win Duleep Trophy After Dominating South Zone

East Zone ended a 13-year wait for the Duleep Trophy title after dominating South Zone throughout the final at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The match eventually ended in a draw on Thursday, but East Zone had already done enough to secure the trophy. Their huge first-innings total of 708 gave them a lead of 372 runs, putting them firmly in control of the contest.

East Zone Finish On 388/7

East Zone continued their strong batting display in the second innings and finished on 388 for seven before the match was called off.

Mohammad Kounian Quraishi was the star of the final session. He remained unbeaten on 116, recording his first century in just his second first-class match.

Quraishi reached three figures from 179 balls when he hit a couple against left-arm pacer C V Milind. He also shared a valuable 150-run partnership with Anukul Roy, who scored 64, for the seventh wicket.

By the time the players shook hands at around 2:10 pm, East Zone had stretched their overall lead to 760 runs.

Ishan Kishan Leads From The Front

East Zone resumed the final day on 212 for five and never looked under serious pressure.

Their bowlers had struggled to get breakthroughs against a batting line-up that had already piled up 708 runs in the first innings. Even Mohammed Siraj, who bowled with plenty of pace and energy, could not make a significant difference.

The big difference between the two teams was the contribution from their key players.

Ishan Kishan produced a brilliant 270 in the first innings and showed that he is ready for another long run in red-ball cricket. He also impressed with his captaincy throughout the final.

East Players Step Up

Mohammed Shami brought plenty of experience to the East Zone side while playing his 100th first-class match. Kumar Kushagra also made his mark with his sixth first-class century.

Shikhar Mohan added a composed half-century, giving East Zone another important contribution with the bat.

While several of East Zone’s players delivered when it mattered, South Zone struggled to get the same impact from their squad.

The team management had left out experienced and in-form players such as Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Sai Kishore. The players brought into the side were unable to fill that gap during the final.

Kishan’s Plan Was Clear

Kishan said his main focus as captain was to understand the situation and secure a first-innings lead.

The East Zone captain explained that after batting for nearly two days, the team knew that getting South Zone’s 10 wickets was the priority.

“Whenever you are the captain of the team, the first thing is situational awareness,” Kishan said.

He added that once East Zone had secured the first-innings advantage, there was little reason to take unnecessary risks by sending his team back onto the field in the heat.

A Long-Awaited Trophy For East

The final also highlighted an interesting aspect of domestic cricket. East Zone’s huge first-innings total effectively decided the title even though there was still plenty of time left in the match. For East Zone, however, the technicalities mattered little by the end.

After 13 years without a Duleep Trophy title, Kishan and his team finally had their hands on the trophy.