South Zone reached 115/2 by lunch on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy 2026 final against East Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday. South Zone remained 593 runs behind East Zone, which had posted a mammoth 708 all out in its first innings.
Devdutt Padikkal led the South Zone response with an unbeaten 58, while Shaikh Rasheed was not out on 22 at the lunch interval. Narayan Jagadeesan contributed 32 before being dismissed, while Ricky Bhui fell for 1.
Padikkal anchors South Zone’s reply
South Zone made a difficult start to its first innings after losing Bhui early. Jagadeesan then added 32 before Shikhar Mohan dismissed him, leaving South Zone with two wickets down.
Padikkal, however, settled into the innings and reached his half-century, helping South Zone negotiate the East Zone attack without further damage before lunch.
Mukesh Kumar and Shikhar Mohan had taken one wicket apiece for East Zone.
Ishan Kishan’s 270 sets up East Zone’s huge total
East Zone's imposing first-innings total was built around captain and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan’s 270 off 334 balls. His marathon innings included 30 fours and seven sixes and lasted more than eight hours across nearly two days. (Wisden)
Kishan’s double century was the defining performance of the innings and put East Zone firmly in control of the final. He became only the seventh batter to score a double century in a Duleep Trophy final and the first East Zone captain and wicketkeeper to achieve the feat. (Wisden)
Kushagra adds century, East Zone crosses 700
Kumar Kushagra provided strong support to Kishan with 101, while Shikhar Mohan scored 85 and Abhimanyu Easwaran made 72.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also made an attacking 44, helping East Zone maintain a high scoring rate. East Zone eventually finished with 708 runs in 163 overs, giving South Zone a huge first-innings deficit to overcome. (India Today)
The 708 is among the highest team totals in the history of the Duleep Trophy final, underlining East Zone’s dominance with the bat. (Wisden)
South Zone bowlers struggle to contain East Zone
South Zone’s bowling attack struggled to make regular breakthroughs during East Zone’s marathon innings.
Tripurana Vijay was the leading wicket-taker with four wickets, while Chama Milind and Shreyas Gopal claimed two each. Shaikh Rasheed also took one wicket, while Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out.
India pacer Mohammed Siraj went wicketless, adding to South Zone’s difficulties on a pitch that offered limited assistance to the bowlers. Reports described the surface as heavily favouring batting. (Rediff)
South Zone face uphill battle in final
With East Zone holding a 593-run lead at lunch on Day 3, South Zone faces a significant challenge simply to stay competitive in the title clash.
The immediate priority will be for Padikkal and Shaikh Rasheed to build a substantial partnership and reduce the first-innings deficit. East Zone, meanwhile, will look to maintain pressure and force a result after its commanding batting performance.
The final remains heavily tilted in East Zone’s favour, although South Zone still has a long first innings ahead.
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