Captain Ishan Kishan scored an unbeaten hundred as he took East Zone to a strong position at the end of Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Kishan went back unbeaten on 111, while the other wicketkeeper batter Kumar Kushagra also remained unscathed on 63 as the two took East to a strong score of 385/4 in 79 overs on stumps. South’s bowlers were laboured at Chepauk, and several of them took the beating from the East batters, as Shikhar Mohan (85), Abhimanyu Easwaran (72) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (44) also put up impressive performances with the willow.
The 15-year-old did not disappoint a bit and marched his way to a stroke-filled 44 from 37 balls after treading with caution at the start. Sooryavanshi lined the Test speedster for three fours and a six in the 12 balls he faced from him in an enthralling show for the fans. Sooryavanshi’s stay was ended by Chama V Milind on a short ball, while Easwaran also impressed well during his 72 as East were in ascendancy after the first session, having scored 133/2 in the 27 overs before lunch.
The fans turned out in numbers at Chepuak after East Zone skipper Ishan won the toss. There was an air of excitement to watch teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action as fans filled the stands opened for the match.
