Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma Shine In Duleep Trophy Final, But East Zone Close In on Title

Ishan Kishan and South Zone captain Tilak Varma produced two impressive knocks on Day 4 of the Duleep Trophy final, but the left-handed wicketkeeper-batter’s contribution carried greater weight as East Zone strengthened their grip on the title at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday.

Kishan followed his stunning 270 in the first innings with an attacking 80 in the second, while Tilak narrowly missed out on another century after making 99. Despite their efforts, South Zone still face a huge deficit and East Zone are now firmly in control of the contest.

East Zone Take Command

Tilak’s 211-ball 99 helped South Zone reach 336 in their first innings. However, that still left them a massive 372 runs behind East Zone’s mammoth 708.

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East then continued to pile on the pressure in their second innings, finishing the day on 212/5. Their overall lead has now stretched to 584 runs, with Kumar Kushagra unbeaten on 34 and Kounain Quraishi on 26.

The pair added 52 runs without being separated before stumps, leaving East Zone with little to worry about heading into the final day.

With such a commanding advantage, the final result already appears to be leaning heavily in East Zone’s favour.

Kishan Continues His Stunning Run

Kishan once again looked completely at ease at the crease.

Having smashed 270 in the first innings, the left-hander walked out for East Zone’s second innings and immediately went after the bowling. He opened his account with a six over mid-wicket against off-spinner Tripurana Vijay and maintained his attacking approach throughout.

Kishan’s most destructive sequence came in Vijay’s 26th over, when he hit the spinner for four, six, six and four from four consecutive deliveries.

He was also given a reprieve when DRS overturned an lbw decision after leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal had successfully appealed on the field.

Kishan eventually added 146 runs for the third wicket alongside Shikhar Mohan before his innings came to an end soon after the tea break. He attempted to attack pacer MD Nidheesh but picked out Devdutt Padikkal inside the leg-side circle.

The crowd in Chennai was left waiting for another Kishan century, but his 80 had already done considerable damage.

Tilak Varma Falls One Run Short

Earlier, South Zone had their hopes resting on Tilak Varma after they resumed at 242/6.

The Hyderabad batter continued to show tremendous discipline and largely stuck to his defensive approach even as wickets fell around him. His innings took South past the 300-run mark and kept their total respectable.

But the wait for his second successive century continues.

After scoring a hundred in the semi-final in Bengaluru last week, Tilak looked set for another three-figure score. However, when he finally attempted to break the shackles, he picked out off-spinner Quraishi, who completed the return catch.

Tilak finished with 99, an innings that was valuable for South Zone, even if the missing one run will undoubtedly hurt.

Sooryavanshi’s Stay Ends Early

The crowd also hoped to see another big contribution from teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

After DRS had overturned an LBW decision against him when he was on six, the young batter could not make the most of his reprieve.

He was eventually stumped by Narayan Jagadeesan off Vijay, bringing his stay at the crease to an early end.

Siraj Shows Signs of a Comeback

One of the more encouraging moments for South Zone came from Mohammed Siraj.

The pacer had struggled to find his usual rhythm since India’s tour of Sri Lanka and had appeared to be operating with a shorter run-up and less pace. On the other hand, East Zone’s Mohammed Shami had shown how much could be extracted from the conditions, troubling batters with both the new and old ball.

Siraj looked much sharper during East Zone’s second innings.

His improved pace, accuracy and movement off the pitch made him a constant threat, and he eventually found the breakthrough when Abhimanyu Easwaran edged one to Padikkal at slip.

However, Siraj’s wicket was only a small moment of relief for South Zone in what has otherwise been a heavily one-sided final.

Eyes on India’s Upcoming Tests

While the Duleep Trophy final appears to be slipping away from South Zone, the performances of Kishan and Tilak have given the selectors plenty to think about ahead of India’s upcoming Test assignments against New Zealand away from home and Australia at home.

Kishan’s two big scores in the final and Tilak’s consistency with the red ball have strengthened their cases, ensuring that the selection debate could become even more interesting in the weeks ahead.