The final day’s play in the Duleep Trophy decider was more of a formality and it ended without any surprises, with East Zone winning the title after 13 years courtesy a massive first innings lead.
South Zone were simply buried under the avalanche of runs that East unleashed on them. After scoring 708 in their first innings and bowling out South for 336, East dominated once again with the bat, piling 388/7 in their second essay. Before captain Ishan Kishan decided that enough agony was heaped on their opponents and declared
their innings at around 2pm, East’s overall lead courtesy their second innings score had swelled to 760.
Beginning the day on an overnight score of 212/5, East saw Jharkhand all-rounder Mohammad Kounain Quraishi march to his maiden first-class century.
Quraishi’s unbeaten 116 was well complemented by fellow all-rounder Anukul
Roy, who made 64. Together, they added 150 for the
seventh wicket.
Skipper’s sparkle
While East were the winners, it was their skipper who stole all the spotlight in the match. His 270 in the first innings took the game out of South’s reach and then he added a fine innings of 80 in the second.
Adjudged Player of the Match, Ishan said: “To be honest, it’s more about being one unit, we did that as a group, we won this title as a group, everyone was taking care of each other.”
As captain, Ishan is unbeaten in 16 first-class games. “The journey doesn’t end here… when you lead a side, there’s always mistakes happening… I think it was more about reading the situation, you need to take care of each other, to get into the zone where I was. It’s a good transformation for me… I’ve been calmer, I’ve had more hunger, you want to lead the team from the front,” Ishan said, reflecting on captaincy.
Eyes on ‘next level’
The other notable performer of the match was senior pacer Mohammed Shami.
The 36-year-old has not played for India since March 2025, but said that he is not short on motivation.
“There are plenty of reasons to stay motivated if you look for them. At this level, if you aren’t self-motivated, your approach is wrong. No matter what stage you’re playing at, your eyes must always be set on the next level,” Shami said.
“My mindset is simple, whichever level I get an opportunity to play, I want to make it count and fulfil my responsibility towards the team,” he added.
While Shami remains out of favour, Mohammed Siraj, who is part of India’s current Test set-up, finished with a single wicket after bowling 41 overs in the match.
Brief scores: East Zone 708 & 388/7 decl. (Mohammad Kounain Quraishi 116 not out, Ishan Kishan 80, Anukul Roy 64; MD Nidheesh 2/28). South Zone 336. Match drawn. East won title on first innings lead.