The Duleep Trophy 2026 final between East Zone and South Zone got underway at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, and the opening day belonged almost entirely to the bat. East Zone, who won the toss and chose to bat first, closed play on a commanding 385 for 4, built around a fine unbeaten century from captain Ishan Kishan and half-centuries from three other batters. South Zone's bowling attack, spearheaded by pace bowler Mohammed Siraj, spent most of the day chasing the game and could not find a breakthrough against the well-set East Zone line-up.
Ishan Kishan's unbeaten century anchors East Zone's total
East Zone's innings began with a bang as openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put together a century stand for the first wicket, giving the innings the platform it needed. Easwaran made 72 runs off 86 balls before he was run out, a piece of misfortune given how well he had batted. Sooryavanshi played a quickfire innings of 44 runs off just 37 balls. Number three batter Shikhar Mohan then took over and played a fine knock of 85 runs to keep the scoring flowing. Captain Ishan Kishan then produced the standout performance of the day, batting through pressure to remain unbeaten on 111 runs off 135 balls. Kumar Kushagra also stayed unbeaten, contributing 63 runs as East Zone closed the day in complete control at 385 for the loss of only 4 wickets.
Siraj wicketless despite conceding 96 runs across three spells
For South Zone, the day turned into a forgettable one for Mohammed Siraj. The pace bowler was given the ball for 14 overs across the day but finished with figures of 0 wickets for 96 runs, an economy rate of 6.90, and also bowled two no-balls along the way. Siraj was particularly expensive in his first and third spells of the day. He opened with a five-over spell in which he leaked 41 runs, then returned for a second five-over spell that cost 26 runs. His third and final spell of the day lasted four overs, during which he conceded 31 more runs. Across all three spells, Siraj could not dislodge a single East Zone batter, leaving him with little to show for his efforts on a tough day for South Zone's bowling unit.
Chama Milind leads South Zone's bowling effort as day two looms
Among South Zone's bowlers, Chama Milind was the most successful on the day, picking up 2 wickets while conceding 56 runs in his 13 overs. The only other wicket to fall came courtesy of Tripurana Vijay, who claimed one wicket during the innings. Apart from these two breakthroughs, the only other dismissal East Zone suffered was Abhimanyu Easwaran being run out, meaning South Zone's bowlers had precious little reward for their efforts through the entire first day. With East Zone sitting pretty at 385 for 4 and several recognised batters still unbeaten in the middle, attention now turns to day two of the final, where it will be worth watching whether South Zone's bowling attack, and Mohammed Siraj in particular, can find a way to fight back and pick up the wickets that eluded them on the opening day.
