The final of the Duleep Trophy 2026 has been started. The contest is being played between Ishan Kishan’s East Zone and Tilak Varma’s South Zone.
This highly-intense match is being played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
East Zone vs South Zone Duleep Trophy final 2026 playing XI:
East Zone (Playing XI): Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shikhar Mohan, Ishan Kishan(w/c), Md Kounain Quraishi, Anukul Roy, Mohammed Shami, Abhijit K Sarkar, Mukesh Kumar
South Zone (Playing XI): Ricky Bhui, Narayan Jagadeesan(w), Devdutt Padikkal, Shaik Rasheed, Tilak Varma(c), Smaran Ravichandran, Shreyas Gopal, Tripurana Vijay, Mohammed Siraj, Chama V Milind, MD Nidheesh
Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten century helps East Zone finish Day 1 at 385/4
East Zone had won the toss and decided to bat first. For them, star batters Abbhimanyu Easwaran and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi began the innings. Both batters gave a outstanding start to their side. The opening pair started hitting impressive boundaries. Sooryavanshi and Easwaran scored crucial runs, which helped their side to perform well for the rest of the day.
Abhimanyu Easwaran played a brilliant innings of 72 runs off 86 balls, including 10 fours and one six. Meanwhile, star batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also delivered an exceptional performance for his side as he continued his attacking approach and scored 44 runs off 37 balls. In his knock, he smashed five fours and one six at a strike rate of 118.
After their dismissals, star player Shikhar Mohan and skipper Ishan Kishan delivered an exceptional performance for his side. Shikhar Mohan scored 85 runs off 120 balls and gave a major setback to their rivals in this important clash. On the other hand, captain Ishan Kishan played a heroic knock for his side as he remained unbeaten on Day 1 and completed his century. He scored 111 runs off 135 balls, including 14 fours and one six. Kumar Kushagra also played a vital role for his team as he batted for 63 runs not out off 75 balls. East Zone players’ impressive batting helped them to complete 385/4 on Day 1 stumps.