East Zone ended a 13-year wait for the Duleep Trophy title after dominating South Zone throughout the five-day final in Chennai. The match ended in a draw on Thursday, but East won the trophy on the basis of a 372-run first-innings lead.East had taken control of the final after scoring 708 in their first innings.East continued batting in their second innings from an overnight score of 212 for five and finished on 388 for seven, stretching their overall lead to 760 runs.Mohammad Kounian Quraishi scored an unbeaten 116, his first first-class century in only his second match. He reached the milestone in 179 balls and shared a 150-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Anukul Roy, who made 64.South’s bowlers again struggled to trouble East’s batters. Mohammed Siraj bowled with pace and intensity in short spells, but did not get enough support from the rest of the attack.South’s batting and team selection also came under focus after the defeat. The team management had left out players such as Karun Nair, Mayank Agarwal and Sai Kishore, but the replacements failed to make an impact.Several East players, however, made important contributions during the match. Captain Ishan Kishan scored 270 in the first innings, Kumar Kushagra hit his sixth first-class century, Shikhar Mohan made a half-century, and Mohammed Shami made an impact while playing his 100th first-class match.Kishan said East’s plan became clear once they had posted a huge first-innings total.“I think when you are the captain of the team, the first thing is situational awareness. We batted for roughly two days, right? Now, as a unit, we know this is essentially a first-innings shootout.”“So, our primary task was to take those first 10 wickets and gain that lead. If we have an innings lead (good enough to impose follow-on), why would I want to step back out in the blazing heat,” Kishan said.Brief Score:East Zone 708 & 388 for 7 declare in 99.2 overs (Md Kounain Quraishi 116 not out, Ishan Kishan 80; MD Nidheesh 2/28)South Zone: 336 in 107.3 overs.
