South Zone continued to lose their grip on the Duleep Trophy final, reaching 242-6 at stumps on day three in response to East Zone's mammoth 708.
South Zone were left with a daunting task after Ishan Kishan's marathon 270 had powered East Zone to the third-highest total in a Duleep Trophy final. They lost wickets at regular intervals on Tuesday, failing to mount a serious challenge at the Chepauk in Chennai.
South Zone lose six wickets as East Zone maintain control
East Zone got an early breakthrough when South Zone’s opener, Ricky Bhui, fell for 1. Narayan Jagadeesan made 32, but South Zone lost both Shaik Rasheed and Devdutt Padikkal during the afternoon session. Padikkal, who had provided some resistance with a 104-ball 62, was dismissed by Mukesh Kumar at 129-4.
Smaran Ravichandran then added 23 before Mohammed Shami claimed his second wicket of the innings, leaving South Zone at 174-5.
Tilak Varma remained at the crease through the slide, batting patiently for his 56* off 133 balls. The South Zone captain found some support from Shreyas Gopal, who fought for his 26 from 79 deliveries as the pair steadied the innings. They took the team past the 240-run mark before Gopal fell in the last over of the day.
At 242-6, South Zone still trail East Zone by 466 runs, leaving them with a huge deficit to overcome. Shami and Mukesh picked up two wickets apiece, while Kounain Quraishi and Shikhar Mohan got a wicket each. Shami, whose last Test appearance was the 2023 World Test Championship final, was the pick of the bowlers, conceding 17 runs in 11 overs with four maidens. He ended with an economy rate of just 1.50.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who had earlier convinced East Zone skipper Kishan to review Bhui’s dismissal early in the innings, bowled four overs, while Kishan also chipped in with one. Sooryavanshi also stood in as captain for a considerable part of the day's play.
🗣️ Take it...take it
— BCCI Domestic (@BCCIdomestic) September 8, 2026
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 🤝 Review
The vice-captain urges the captain to take the review, and it turns out to be successful 🙌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/BhTkGWeeoD#DuleepTrophy | #EZvSZ pic.twitter.com/MmtESDSnMy
If the five-day clash ends in a draw, East Zone will be named winners if they are able to hold on to their first-innings lead. East Zone last won the competition in the 2012-13 season.
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