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.
Outcome
How the second innings panned out
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.
Knocks
50-plus scores from Quraishi, Roy
On the final day, Quraishi and Roy extended their seventh-wicket partnership to 150 runs.
Quraishi scored his maiden First-Class century in the 96th over, bringing up the milestone with a drive off pacer CV Milind.
He returned unbeaten on 116 off 190 balls (13 fours and 4 sixes). He also took two wickets in the first innings.
Roy, who scored 64 off 112 balls, recorded his eighth half-century in the format.
Information
Player of the Tournament
Tilak Varma was adjudged the Player of the Tournament after finishing as the second-highest run-scorer. He recorded 50-plus scores in all three innings, including a ton. His scores read 116*, 51*, and 99. The South Zone skipper concluded with 266 runs across three innings.
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Third title for East Zone
As mentioned, East Zone won their first Duleep Trophy title since the 2012/13 season, when they defeated Central Zone in the final. Overall, this was only East Zone's third Duleep Trophy title.