East Zone concluded Day 3 of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium with a commanding position, largely thanks to the impressive performances of India internationals Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar. Their effective bowling helped East Zone assert dominance in the match, setting the stage for a potentially decisive outcome as the final continues.
Both Shami and Mukesh took two wickets each as the Tilak Varma-led South were restricted to 242/6 in the first innings and ended the day trailing by 466. Devdutt Padikkal (62) and Tilak Varma (56*) scored half-centuries, but the South Zone batters would regret their dismissals, even though Tilak remains unbeaten and the sole hope for an improbable comeback. The South batters had poor shot selection, and the East bowlers found some spice with even the older ball, using reverse swing to trouble the South batters, who got starts but not as much as the East batters, especially Ishan Kishan, who scored 270.
Ricky Bhui was the first one to be dismissed when he edged one behind for stand-in wicketkeeper Kumar Kushagra to palm it. East Zone vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi insisted on a review to overturn the umpire’s not-out call for Bhui’s caught-behind appeal, which was later given out on DRS. Padikkal made a strong fifty but holed Mukesh Kumar out to deep square leg. Sooryavanshi took the captain’s armband for a brief period in the later part of the second session as Ishan Kishan was off the field. He brought in Shami for a brief spell, and the pacer got the highest Ranji Trophy scorer from the previous season, Smaran Ravichandran. This time Kushagra insisted for the review to Sooryavanshi after the umpire did not pick the edge.
