East Zone continued their dominance in the Duleep Trophy 2026 final as captain Ishan Kishan smashed a brilliant double century against South Zone on Day 2 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Kishan reached the milestone in style, hitting a boundary off Devdutt Padikkal’s bowling to complete his double hundred. The left-handed batter took 270 deliveries to reach the landmark and remained unbeaten as East Zone piled on the runs.
At the latest update, East Zone were 586/5 after 125.5 overs, with Kishan unbeaten on 231 runs. Anukul Roy was supporting him at the other end with a valuable contribution as the pair added a crucial partnership.
Earlier in the innings, South Zone managed to pick up the wicket of Kumar Kushagra after he scored a century. Tripurana Vijay provided the breakthrough by dismissing Kushagra for 101, but South Zone bowlers failed to stop East Zone’s scoring momentum.
East Zone had already built a strong foundation on Day 1. Young opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi impressed with a quick 44, while Abhimanyu Easwaran scored 72 and Shikhar Mohan contributed 85 to put South Zone under pressure.
For South Zone, left-arm pacer Chama Milind was among the successful bowlers early in the innings, taking two wickets. However, the bowling attack struggled to contain Kishan, who converted the strong start into a massive individual score.
With East Zone approaching the 600-run mark, South Zone faced a difficult task of restricting the first innings lead. The possibility of a declaration remained open as East Zone looked to maximise their advantage before turning the pressure on South Zone’s batting line.
What Happens Next
South Zone will look for quick wickets if East Zone continue batting, while East Zone will aim to declare at a strong total and put pressure on South Zone’s top order.
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