East Zone win maiden Duleep Trophy title in 13 years
What's the story
East Zone won the 2026 Duleep Trophy after beating South Zone in a high-scoring final at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. The Ishan Kishan-led side scored over 1,000 runs in a five-day final before winning on the first-innings lead. Kishan was instrumental in East Zone's victory with brilliant knocks of 270 and 80. Tilak Varma, who scored 99 (211) in South Zone's only innings, was adjudged the Player of the Tournament.
Match highlights
East Zone's dominance in the match
Electing to bat, East Zone posted a mammoth 708, thanks to Kishan's double-century and a ton from Kumar Kushagra.
While East Zone batted for 163 overs across two days, South Zone's Tripurana Vijay took four wickets.
In response, South Zone perished for 336 despite Tilak Varma's valiant 99.
East Zone's bowlers, including Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, and Md Kounain Quraishi, shared seven wickets.
Player performances
Kishan's tally and Quraishi's maiden ton
In their second innings, East Zone were at 388/7 when the two teams shook hands on Day 5.
Kishan played an aggressive 80-run knock, taking his overall tally in the final to a staggering 350 runs.
All-rounder Quraishi also made the most of a tiring South Zone attack by scoring his maiden First-Class hundred. Shikhar Mohan and Anukul Roy also scored half-centuries.
Numbers
Kishan concludes with 350 runs
In the first innings, Kishan scored 270 off 334 balls (30 fours and 7 sixes), powering East Zone.
Kishan now has the second-highest individual score in the Duleep Trophy final. He is only behind the late Raman Lamba, who scored 320 against West Zone in the 1987/88 final.
Kishan, who scored a 98-ball 80 in the second innings, also completed 4,000 First-Class runs. He now has 10 tons and 20 half-centuries in red-ball cricket.