In the 6th over of the innings, East Zone and Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar strangled South Zone opener Ricky Bhui down the leg-side. Captain Ishan Kishan was unsure about taking the review but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was adamant that a DRS should be taken for a caught-behind appeal after on-field umpires had turned it down.
Replays immediately showed that Bhui had got a thin edge to wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra down the leg-side with Sooryavanshi’s instincts coming to the fore once again. Sooryavanshi’s demand for a DRS to Ishan Kishan soon went viral on social media.
WATCH Vaibhav Sooryavanshi suggest to Ishan Kishan to take a DRS on Day 3 of Duleep Trophy 2026 final HERE…
Thanks to Sooryavanshi’s review, South Zone lost their first wicket for 10 in reply to massive East Zone score of 708 in the first innings thanks to skipper Ishan Kishan’s brilliant knock of 270. Sooryavanshi had missed out on scoring a second successive fifty in the Duleep Trophy 2026 after he was dismissed for 37-ball 44 with 5 fours and a six.
After the early loss of Bhui, in-form Team India batter Devdutt Padikkal joined Narayan Jagadeesan in the middle. The second-wicket pair added 60 runs for the second wicket before left-arm-spinner Shikhar Mohan provided the breakthrough by sending back Jagadeesan for 32 off 42 balls with six fours.
Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bengaluru batter Padikkal completed his 50 in 65 balls before lunch with 4 boundaries. But South Zone pacers Mohammad Shami and Mukesh Kumar delivered two massive blows in the second session.
First Shami trapped Chennai Super Kings batter Shaik Rasheed in front to have him leg-before for 27 in 48 balls with 5 fours for the third wicket of the innings. Soon after, Mukesh picked up his second wicket when Padikkal disappointingly fell for 62 off 104 balls with 4 fours.
Padikkal chipped the ball straight to substitute fielder at deep mid-wicket is a very soft dismissal after getting his eye in. South Zone skipper Tilak Varma and Ravichandran Smaran were battling in the middle, hoping to resurrect their side’s reply in the final.