East Zone Clinch Duleep Trophy After First-Innings Lead

East Zone won the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy after the final between East Zone and South Zone ended in a draw on September 10, 2026, in Chepauk, Chennai. With a massive first-innings lead of 708 runs, East Zone had enough margin even for a draw which helped them win the tournament. Kishan’s team declared after 388/7, with a huge lead of 760. Kounain Quraishi’s maiden hundred was the high point of the last day of the match, while Kishan ended up with scores of 270 and 80.

East Zone Wins on First Innings Lead

East Zone completely dominated the match right from the start with a large first-innings lead. After South Zone were all out for 336 runs, East Zone led by 372 runs.

Due to the nature of the pitch which was not helping the bowlers, East decided to keep batting instead of declaring their innings closed early. This meant the trophy would go to them if there was no outcome of the match.

After declaring 388/7, East Zone had given South Zone no chance of chasing the large total.

Duleep Trophy Final Scorecard

• East Zone: 708 and 388/7 declared
• South Zone: 336
• Result: East Zone won on first-innings lead
• Venue: Chepauk, Chennai
• Player of the Match: Ishan Kishan

Kounain Quraishi Scores First-Class Century Debut

The most impressive performance of the day belongs to Kounain Quraishi, the allrounder from Jharkhand who made his debut in first-class cricket during the ongoing series.

Quraishi struck an unbeaten score of 116 and scored his first-class century debut. He formed a crucial 150-run stand for the seventh wicket with Anukul Roy to increase the lead that already belonged to East.

Anukul Roy also got his eighth first-class half-century and got out for his efforts.

Ishan Kishan Emerges as Star Player of the Series

Captain of East Ishan Kishan was instrumental in helping his side lift the trophy. In the final, he scored 270 and 80 and was adjudged Player of the Match.

Kishan also went unbeaten as captain in first-class cricket for 16 matches.

He emerged as the top run-scorer of the series, scoring 409 runs in five innings with an average of 102.25. The skipper of South Tilak Varma was second with 266 runs.

Reasons Behind Why South Zone Could not Manufacture a Result

South Zone was already under immense pressure having been dismissed for 336. The ground was still very flat in the fifth day’s play with the ball remaining either flat or taking sudden turns.

The bowlers of South found it difficult to break through the run-scoring batters from East. But Mohammed Siraj showed great improvement from his first innings where he remained wicketless having conceded 140 runs in 140 balls to finish with 1 for 47 in 16 balls.