Ishan Kishan's Century, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Brilliance Dominates Duleep Trophy Final Day 1

Ishan Kishan produced a commanding unbeaten century as East Zone dominated the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final, reaching 385 for four against a listless South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.

Kishan remained unbeaten on 111 from 135 balls, striking 14 fours and a six, as he and Kumar Kushagra, who was unbeaten on 63, added 144 runs for the fifth wicket in just 26.4 overs. Their partnership ensured East Zone finished the day firmly in control after South had briefly threatened to gain the upper hand.

The East Zone skipper combined aggression with composure throughout his innings and completed 4,000 first-class runs along the way. He brought up his 10th first-class hundred with a crisp four off Shreyas Gopal, who was playing

his 100th first-class match. Kishan reached his half-century from 71 balls before accelerating, with his second fifty coming off only 51 deliveries.

His century was built around a wide range of strokes, with powerful pulls and authoritative drives through the covers keeping the South Zone attack under constant pressure. He also played a crucial role in rescuing East after they slipped to 147 for three, putting on 94 runs with Shikhar Mohan for the fourth wicket.

Mohan, who made 85, provided the ideal support at the other end. The 21-year-old showed impressive maturity, particularly in his judgment outside the off-stump, and did not offer a single play-and-miss during his innings. He was not entirely defensive, however, taking Tripurana Vijay for a six and two fours in one over.

Mohan appeared set for a well-deserved century before chopping left-arm pacer CV Milind onto his stumps. Milind had replaced the injured Vidwath Kaverappa, and his dismissal summed up East Zone’s batting effort — several batters had laid solid foundations but failed to convert them into bigger scores.

Earlier, Abhimanyu Easwaran anchored a century opening stand with teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Easwaran scored 72, while Sooryavanshi made 44 off just 37 balls as the pair added 100 runs in 14 overs.

Easwaran, known for his defensive solidity, looked completely at ease and at times even outscored Sooryavanshi. The teenager, meanwhile, displayed his trademark attacking intent but paid the price for an ill-judged pull against Milind. He picked out substitute Tanay Thayagarajan in the deep, handing South their first breakthrough.

It was arguably the first occasion South had properly tested Sooryavanshi with a short delivery, and the result highlighted the need for the young batter to exercise greater restraint, particularly in front of a crowd of nearly 10,000 that had turned up to watch one of Indian cricket’s most exciting young prospects.

South Zone’s bowling attack struggled throughout, with even their leading pacer Mohammad Siraj unable to make an impact. The India quick finished with figures of 14-1-96-0 across three spells, conceding boundaries to Sooryavanshi, Easwaran and Kushagra.

Although the flat pitch offered little assistance, South failed to find a way to disrupt East’s rhythm. Unless they can quickly remove the remaining East Zone batters on Monday, South face the prospect of being buried under a massive first-innings total.

(With PTI Inputs)