East Zone translated their complete dominance over the last 12 sessions into a Duleep Trophy victory after 13 years, overwhelming South Zone on the basis of a massive first innings lead on the fifth and final day of the final in Chennai on Thursday. East Zone sauntered to 388 for seven in their second innings, swelling the overall lead to 760 runs even as the match ended in a draw. Mohammad Kounian Quraishi joined the list of century-makers in this match with an unbeaten 116, his maiden three-figure mark in two-match-old first-class career.
East Zone translated their complete dominance over the last 12 sessions into a Duleep Trophy victory after 13 years, overwhelming South Zone on the basis of a massive first innings lead on the fifth and final day of the final.
Quraishi, who added 150 runs with Anukul Roy (64) for the seventh wicket stand, reached the milestone in 179 balls with a brace off left-arm pacer CV Milind. Starting the day from 212 for five, the Ishan Kishan -led side, as it happened in the first innings, was seldom troubled by direction-less South bowlers. Skipper Kishan made a stunning 270 in the first innings to underline his red-ball readiness while veteran Mohammed Shami , who was playing in his 100th first-class match, put to shame some younger names with a spirited effort.
East’s second innings was a mere continuation of their show of power in the match. The lack of support for Siraj and a toothless batting effort also reflected the flawed selection as far as South squad is concerned. Kumar Kushagra scored his sixth first-class hundred while his Jharkhand team-mate Shikhar Mohan made a fifty filled with class and poise. “I think when you are the captain of the team, the first thing is situational awareness. We batted for roughly two days, right? Now, as a unit, we know this is essentially a first-innings shootout.
