East Zone solidified their dominance in the Duleep Trophy final, finishing the fourth day with a commanding 584-run lead. Captain Ishan Kishan led the charge with a blistering 80, while Shikhar Mohan contributed a solid 52 to put the title firmly within reach. Kishan, who concluded the match with a total of 350 runs, fell just 20 runs short of a century, mirroring the misfortune of South Zone’s Tilak Varma, who was dismissed for 99 earlier in the day.
The morning session saw South Zone attempt a spirited recovery, adding 94 runs for their final four wickets. Tilak Varma and CV Milind provided resistance, with Varma striking boundaries off Mohammed Shami and Milind finding gaps against Mukesh Kumar. However, the momentum shifted once East Zone introduced spin. The partnership broke when Milind was dismissed, triggering a collapse. Tripurana Vijay was run out, and Mohammad Siraj fell leg-before-wicket to Mukesh Kumar. Tilak Varma’s hopes of a century were dashed when he mistimed a shot back to the bowler, leaving him stranded on 99.
Choosing not to enforce the follow-on despite a 372-run first-innings advantage, East Zone opted to bat again. The innings began shakily, with Abhimanyu Easwaran caught at first slip by Siraj and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stumped for 8 by Tripurana Vijay. With the team at 212/5, Kishan and Mohan steadied the ship, eventually accelerating the scoring rate. Kishan was particularly aggressive against Vijay, smashing a sequence of 4, 6, 6, 4 after reaching his fifty.
Kishan’s departure, caused by a miscued shot while attempting to accelerate against Shreyas Gopal and MD Nidheesh, did little to dampen East Zone’s prospects. His innings pushed the lead past the 500-run mark, effectively sealing the match outcome. Following his exit, Mohan was dismissed lbw by Shaikh Rasheed, and Sudip Gharami was run out. Kumar Kushagra and Md Kounain Quraishi successfully navigated the final overs, building a half-century partnership to close the day.
The brief scores stand at: East Zone 708 and 212/5 (Ishan Kishan 80, Shikhar Mohan 52) leading South Zone 336 (Tilak Varma 99; Mukesh Kumar 3-62) by 584 runs. The report also notes that in frustrating fashion, Tilak ended up missing a well-deserved century after he mistimed one back to the bowler in the following over to fall for 99. The report also notes that some of them left the stadium just five overs into the innings as Tripurana Vijay saw Sooryavanshi step out and dragged his length back as the opener got stumped for just 8, unfortunately. The report also notes that with the lead now well past 400, Kishan hammered Vijay for a six and Mohan followed it up with a boundary straight down the ground of Shreyas Gopal. The report also notes that cV Milind showed a lot of resistance that aided the overnight unbeaten half-centurion Tilak Varma to continue in the same vein. The report also notes that at the other end, Milind got going with a neat cover drive against Mukesh Kumar. The report also notes that the boundaries just kept flowing against the brand new cherry with Milind in particular looking in great touch. The report also notes that bringing the spinners into operation, that forced a change at both ends.
