Duleep Trophy 2026 Final: Ishan Kishan’s marathon 270 powered East Zone to a mammoth 708 before Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar turned up the pressure on South Zone on Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy 2026 final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, popularly known as Chepauk, in Chennai. The two Test-experienced pacers claimed two wickets apiece as East Zone strengthened their grip on the contest and moved closer to victory.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Final: South Zone’s batting line-up crumbles under pressure
While East Zone enjoyed a 100-run opening stand between Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran, South Zone were rocked early, losing Ricky Bhui for just one with 10 runs on the board. Bhui faced 18 deliveries before falling.
Narayan Jagadeesan provided some resistance, striking six boundaries in his 42-ball 32, but was eventually dismissed by Shikhar Mohan. Devdutt Padikkal, who had impressed during India’s recent two-Test series in Sri Lanka, followed up with a gritty 62. However, he too failed to convert his start into the big score South Zone desperately needed, with Mukesh Kumar claiming his wicket to complete his second scalp of the innings after dismissing Bhui earlier.
Captain Tilak Varma remained unbeaten on 56 off 135 deliveries, but found little support as Shaikh Rasheed (27) and Ravichandran Smaran (23) were dismissed after getting set. Mohammed Shami broke both partnerships, bringing an end to potentially threatening passages of play for East Zone.
South Zone appeared set to finish the day five wickets down, but Md Kounain Quraishi eventually ended Shreyas Gopal’s resistance on 26, breaking his 66-run partnership with Tilak.
With Tilak now the only recognised batter left in the South Zone line-up, the responsibility rests firmly on the captain to prolong his team’s resistance and reduce the enormous first-innings deficit.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Final: What happens if the match ends in a draw?
If the Duleep Trophy final ends in a draw, the winner will be decided on the basis of the first-innings lead. The team that takes the lead after the first innings will be crowned champions.
That puts East Zone in a commanding position at the end of Day 3. South Zone trail by 466 runs, meaning they will need a monumental effort on Day 4 to turn the contest around. A draw currently favours East Zone, while South Zone face the possibility of defeat unless they can bridge the massive deficit.
Duleep Trophy 2026 Final: Brief Scorecard
South Zone 242/6 in 80 overs (Devdutt Padikkal 62, Tilak Varma 56*; Mohammed Shami 2/17) trail East Zone 708 (Ishan Kishan 270, Kumar Kushagra 101; Tripurana Vijay 4/180) by 466 runs.
