CHENNAI, 9 September 2026: East Zone stretched their overall lead to 584 runs on the fourth day of the Duleep Trophy final, bowling out South Zone for 336 before Ishan Kishan struck a brisk 80 in East Zone’s second innings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
South Zone, resuming the day at 242 for six, added only 94 more runs before being bowled out, 372 runs behind East Zone’s first-innings total of 708 — comfortably within follow-on territory. Kishan chose to bat again rather than enforce it, and by stumps East Zone were 212 for five in 51 overs, leaving South Zone needing something special to save the final on the last day.
Varma falls one short of a fighting century
South Zone’s innings was built around captain Tilak Varma, who fell for 99 off 211 balls, chipping a return catch to Md Kounain Quraishi. Devdutt Padikkal made 62 and Chama Milind added 43 further down the order, but the total was not enough to close the gap.
Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the East Zone bowlers with three for 62, while Mohammed Shami finished with two for 17. Kounain Quraishi and Shikhar Mohan picked up two wickets apiece as South Zone’s innings folded.
Kishan and Mohan put on 126 for the third wicket
East Zone lost both openers cheaply in their second innings. Abhimanyu Easwaran was leg-before to Mohammed Siraj for 3, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was stumped off Tripurana Vijay for 8.
Kishan then added 126 for the third wicket with Shikhar Mohan, the pair batting positively to push East Zone’s lead well clear. Kishan made 80 off 98 balls with nine fours and three sixes before he fell to Shreyas Gopal going for a big shot, and Mohan followed for 52 off 85 balls.
Kishan’s day-four impact
Kishan’s 80 took his combined runs in the match to 350, on top of the 270 he made in East Zone’s first innings. That first-innings knock remains the second-highest individual score by any batter in a Duleep Trophy final, behind Raman Lamba’s 320 in 1987-88.
Kushagra and Quraishi bat through to stumps
Sudip Gharami was run out cheaply after Mohan’s dismissal, but Kumar Kushagra and Md Kounain Quraishi saw out the rest of the day, adding an unbroken 52 for the sixth wicket to take East Zone to 212 for five at the close. Kushagra was unbeaten on 34 and Quraishi on 26.
Where the final stands
With a 584-run lead and two days left in the five-day final, East Zone need only a clutch of wickets to force an outright win and be crowned Duleep Trophy champions. South Zone, who will resume day five needing a repeat of Varma’s fight just to survive, go into the final day with their title hopes hanging by a thread.
