East Zone 708/10 in 163.0 Overs | Duleep Trophy Final Live: Ishan Kishan goes out to bat again as East Zone cross 650 against South Zone

Duleep Trophy Final Live: East Zone took firm control of the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 final after a commanding batting performance against South Zone on the opening day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. East Zone, led by captain Ishan Kishan, ended the day on 385/4, leaving South Zone with plenty of work to do on the second morning.

Kishan was the star, remaining unbeaten on 111 as he continued his quest to establish himself as a reliable red-ball batsman. The left-hander reached his 10th first-class century and also completed 4000 runs in first-class cricket. After giving Kishan time, he accelerated after his half-century, including T Vijay for a six immediately after reaching the milestone.

Kumar Kushagra provided excellent support at the other end and finished unbeaten on 63. He hit five sixes and four fours, making particular use of South Zone’s short ball tactics. The pair added 144 runs without separating in just 26.4 overs.

East Zone had earlier started aggressively with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashing 44 off 37 deliveries. The young batsman also attacked Mohammed Siraj during the pacer’s opening spell, hitting him for 4, 6 and 4 in quick succession. Abhimanyu Easwaran added to the aggression with a fluent seventy-two before being run out on his 31st birthday.

Shikhar Mohan then produced an impressive 85 on his Duleep Trophy debut.The Jharkhand batsman, who replaced Virat Singh in the XI, looked comfortable against spin and looked set for a century before chopping CV Milinda onto his stumps.

South Zone bowlers struggled to contain the Eastern batsmen, Siraj finished with expensive figures of 0/96 from 14 overs. Only 79 overs were bowled on the day, with South also falling short of the required over-rate.

East Zone, who are aiming for their first Duleep Trophy title in 13 years, will continue with Kishan and Kushagra well set and firmly in control.