Ishan Kishan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
East Zone have claimed the Duleep Trophy after a 13-year wait, winning the 2026 final against South Zone on first-innings lead in Chennai.
Captain Ishan Kishan was the star of the match, scoring 270 in the first innings and 80 in the second for an aggregate of 350 runs, earning him Player of the Match.
East Zone’s imposing first-innings total of 708 put the match beyond South Zone’s reach, who were bowled out for 336 in reply.
Contributions from Abhimanyu Easwaran (72), Shikhar Mohan (85) and Kumar Kushagra (101) underpinned East Zone’s dominant total.
The final at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium ran from September 6 to 10, with the title decided on first-innings lead after no outright result was reached.
Abhimanyu Easwaran (72), Shikhar Mohan (85) and Kumar Kushagra (101) all made significant contributions to East Zone’s massive first-innings 708.
South Zone were bowled out for 336 in reply to East Zone’s first innings, leaving them 372 runs behind and facing an uphill task for the remainder of the match.
The Duleep Trophy is decided on first-innings lead when a match doesn’t produce an outright result within the scheduled days, as was the case in this final.
The final was played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, running from September 6 to 10.
Ishan Kishan’s Player of the Match award recognised his rare feat of scoring a double-century and a half-century in the same first-class match.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the teenage batting prospect, was part of East Zone’s title-winning squad, gaining valuable first-class experience in a high-stakes final.
East Zone’s bowlers also played a key role in restricting South Zone to 336, setting up the platform from which Kishan’s batting sealed the outright title on lead.
East Zone’s title win ends a 13-year wait for the trophy, their last Duleep Trophy triumph having come well over a decade ago.
Ishan Kishan, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
