East Zone become Duleep Trophy Champions defeating South Zone, secure first title in 14 Years

East Zone have been crowned champions of the 2026 Duleep Trophy after their final against South Zone ended in a draw at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The title was decided on the basis of East Zone's commanding first-innings lead, as they won the title for the first time in 14 years. This is also East Zone's third Duleep Trophy title, while the previous two came back-to-back in 2011 and 2012.

East Zone, led by wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, produced a dominant performance across the five-day contest. After winning the toss and opting to bat, they piled up 708 runs in their first innings, with Kishan producing a spectacular 270-run knock. Kumar Kushagra also struck a century, scoring 101.

In reply, South Zone were bowled out for 336,

giving East Zone a massive 372-run first-innings lead. South Zone captain Tilak Varma fought hard with 99, while Devdutt Padikkal contributed 62, but the side could not match East Zone's enormous total.

East Zone opted to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on and continued to pile on the pressure. Kishan added another 80, while Shikhar Mohan scored 52. On the final day, Md Kounain Quraishi completed a century, remaining unbeaten on 116 as East Zone declared on 388/7, setting South Zone an effectively impossible task.

With insufficient time remaining for South Zone to chase the enormous target, the two sides settled for a draw, handing East Zone the championship on the basis of their first-innings advantage.

The triumph marks East Zone's third Duleep Trophy title and their first since the back-to-back triumphs in 2011-12 and 2012-13. Their latest success comes after a strong campaign under Kishan's leadership.

Kishan was the standout performer of the final, finishing with 350 runs across the two innings - 270 in the first innings and 80 in the second. He was named Player of the Match, while South Zone skipper Tilak Varma was adjudged Player of the Series.