The third day of the final match between East Zone and South Zone was completed, where Tilak Varma’s South Zone faced little difficulties as East Zone continued their dominance in the bowling as well.
After the end of the first innings of Ishan Kishan’s East Zone. Their rivals, South Zone, finally got the chance to play their first innings as Ishan Kishan’s impressive batting performance and captain’s innings, caused them a torture of two-days’ fielding.
Jagadeesan, Padikkal boost South Zone after early Bhui blow
Well, star players Ricky Bhui and Narayan Jagadessan started the first innings for South Zone. Things became challenging for South Zone when they got Ricky Bhui’s wicket for 1-run. In his innings, he faced 18 balls and couldn’t leave a bigger impact on his side.
After his dismissal, star players Narayan Jagadessan and Devdutt Padikkal gave a major boost to the team by showcasing a brilliant batting performance, which helped their side to gain positive hope in the final match of the Duleep Trophy 2026.
Tilak Varma holds firm as Mukesh Kumar stars with two key wickets
For South Zone, Narayan Jagadeesan contributed a 32-run innings off 42 balls. In his knock, he smashed six boundaries. After showcasing a vital role for the team, he was dismissed by Shikhar Mohan. Meanwhile, Devdutt Padikkal took the matter in his hands and played an exceptional knock for his side. His innings included 62 runs off 104 balls with 4 boundaries. Later on, while trying to make things better for his side, he was dismissed by star Indian pacer Mukesh Kumar, who is known for his lethal bowling performance and wicket-taking ability. On Day 3, Mukesh Kumar ended Ricky Bhui and Devdutt Padikkal’s innings.
Moving on, Shaik Rasheed and captain Tilak Varma tried to play a crucial role for South Zone. But, Shaik Rasheed lost his wicket after a short but crisp innings. He scored 27 runs off 48 balls, including five fours. However, skipper Tilak Varma is unbeaten as he was not out at the end of Day 3.
Speaking about his innings, Tilak Varma scored 56 runs off 133 balls, including five fours. Despite having him in the corner, South Zone lost their two wickets, Smaran Ravichandran and Shreyas Gopal, for a convincing but not impactable score. East Zone pacers Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar showcased their experience and played a crucial role for their side in the South Zone’s first innings. South Zone are trailing by a big margin of 466 runs. After Day 3 stumps, they had lost 6 wickets for a score of 242 runs. They need a big and dependable partnership to reduce this big mammoth.