Ishan Kishan’s East Zone win Duleep Trophy after 13 years with first innings lead over South Zone

East Zone ended their 13-year wait for the Duleep Trophy title after dominating South Zone during the five-day final in Chennai. The match ended in a draw on Thursday, but East won the trophy on the back of a 372-run lead in the first innings.East took control of the final after scoring 708 in their first innings.East continued to bat in their second innings from an overnight score of 212 for five to finish on 388 for seven, taking their total lead to 760 runs.Mohammad Kounian Quraishi scored an unbeaten 116, his first first-class century in only the second match. He reached the milestone in 179 balls and shared a 150-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Anukul Roy, who made 64.South’s bowlers once again struggled with East’s batting. Mohammed Siraj flashed pace and intensity in short spells but did not get enough support from the rest of the attack.South’s batting and team selection also came under the spotlight after the defeat. The team management left out players like Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Sai Kishore but their replacements failed to materialize.However, several Eastern players made significant contributions during the match. Captain Ishan Kishan scored 270 in the first innings, Kumar Kushagra hit his sixth first-class century, Shikhar Mohan hit a half-century and Mohammed Shami impressed in his 100th first-class match.Kishan said East’s plan was clear once they posted a huge first innings total.“I think when you captain a team, the first thing is situational awareness. We’ve been batting for about two days, haven’t we? Now as a unit, we know it’s basically a first-inning shootout.”“So our primary task was to take those first 10 wickets and get that lead. If we have an innings lead (good enough to force the follow-on), why would I want to go back in that scorching heat,” Kishan said.Short Score:East Zone 708 and 388 for 7 declare in 99.2 overs (Md Kounain Quraishi 116 not out, Ishan Kishan 80; MD Nidheesh 2/28)South Zone: 336 in 107.3 overs.