Duleep Trophy Final: South Zone Stumbles at 242/6 as East Zone’s 708 Looms Large

The third day of the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium turned into a battle of numbers, and not the kind South Zone hoped for. East Zone had already piled on a staggering 708 runs, a total that few teams ever see, and the visitors were left looking at a mountain that seemed almost impossible to climb.

Mohammad Shami, the seasoned pacer for South Zone, tried his best to turn the tide. He was brought in for short, sharp bursts – a tactic that usually pays off, and this time it gave South Zone a tiny lifeline. Shami’s spell ended with figures of 11‑4‑17‑2, a tidy line that included two crucial wickets.

The first wicket came when Shaik Rasheed, who had managed 29, was given away lbw after a 56‑run partnership with Devdutt Padikkal. Shami’s second breakthrough was Ravichandran Smaran, out caught behind after a 45‑run stand with captain Tilak Varma. Both dismissals gave the South bowlers a momentary boost, but the damage had already been done.

Speaking of the bat, Padikkal tried to anchor the innings with a composed 62, hitting his fifty off just 65 balls. Unfortunately, a careless flick to the deep saw him caught, ending his steady knock. Earlier, Narayan Jagadeesan contributed 32, partnering with Padikkal for a 60‑run stand before falling to part‑timer Shikhar Mohan.

Tilak Varma, the South Zone skipper, showed the kind of grit you expect from a captain. Unbeaten on 56 off 133 balls, he steered the innings with a calm that belied the pressure. His partnership with Shreyas Gopal added another 66 runs, though Gopal was later dismissed for 26.

Meanwhile, on the East Zone side, Ishan Kishan’s mammoth 270 and Kumar Kushagra’s century (101) had already set the foundation for the 708‑run total. Kishan’s innings, packed with 30 fours and seven sixes, entered the record books as the eighth‑highest score in Duleep Trophy history. Kushagra’s 101, filled with eight fours and five sixes, kept the momentum alive even after Kishan’s dismissal.

When the day’s play wrapped up, South Zone found themselves at 242 for six, still 466 runs behind the daunting East Zone total. With just four wickets in hand, the question on everyone’s mind was whether they could avoid the follow‑on or at least make the opposition sweat a little.

In short, the match had turned into a test of resilience. South Zone’s bowlers had given everything they could, Shami’s short spells were a highlight, and Varma’s unbeaten knock kept a flicker of hope alive. But the sheer scale of East Zone’s total meant that the coming days would be a real slog for the South.