Ishan Kishan's 80 puts East Zone on brink of Duleep Trophy title

East Zone are closing in on the Duleep Trophy title after another commanding batting show from captain Ishan Kishan in the final against South Zone at Chepauk Stadium, Chennai.

Kishan, who scored a double century in the first innings, continued his aggressive batting in the second innings as well. He fell just short of a second century but set a new record for the most runs by a batter in a single Duleep Trophy final. Across both innings, Kishan scored a total of 326 runs, breaking the 16-year-old record held by Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 302 runs in a single match for West Zone in the 2008 final, comprising 25 in the first innings and 277 in the second.

In the second innings, Kishan fell for 80 after his first-innings double century, giving East Zone a strong lead. South Zone, in contrast, appear to be in trouble.

Riding on a big first-innings lead, East Zone extended their advantage to more than 500 runs in the second innings, putting them firmly on course to win the title. Opening batter Shikhar Mohan also played well, completing his half-century.

With Kishan's runs across the match and useful contributions from the rest of the batting order, East Zone are now well placed to win the Duleep Trophy.