A five-day First Class match in India — usually reserved for knockout fixtures — is designed to give teams a chance to push for an outright result. At the same time, it tends to produce oddities because the focus is on securing the first-innings lead, which is enough to claim victory. Once that is achieved, the contest often fizzles out. Yet the teams still have to go through the motions until at least Tea on the final day, even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion.The 2026 Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone in all likelihood will go down in history as one such game after the latter secured the crucial first-innings lead on the fourth day at the MAC Stadium here.South, resuming at 242 for six in pursuit of East’s massive 708, was bundled out for 336 at lunch on Wednesday.Realistically, South’s best hope was to delay the inevitable, and that relied on Tilak Varma getting a big one. For the first two hours of the penultimate day, the left-hander did just that, positively countering Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar’s burst with the second new ball.
Tilak Varma.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU
C.V. Milind supported his captain, with the duo adding 78 for the seventh wicket. But once Shikhar Mohan had Milind caught at short-leg, the end was near.Tilak, in a rush to get to his landmark, fell agonisingly short by one run while trying to push for a single, only to give a simple return catch to off-spinner Kounain Quraishi.Despite a 372-run lead, Ishan Kishan opted to bat the opposition out of the game and, at stumps, East was 212 for five in its second innings, ahead by 584 runs.Though the contest was virtually sealed, a healthy crowd had gathered in the hope of seeing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put on a show. The southpaw, though, perished early, stumped while attempting to charge down off-spinner T. Vijay.
