Ishan Kishan’s unbeaten 111 powers East Zone to 385/4 against South

Ishan Kishan's unbeaten 111 helped East Zone reach 385/4 against South Zone on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final. Shikhar Mohan and Abhimanyu Easwaran also contributed, while Kumar Kushagra's unbeaten 63 extended East's dominance

Chennai: Captain Ishan Kishan scored an unbeaten hundred as he took East Zone to a strong position at the end of Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Kishan went back unbeaten on 111, while the other wicketkeeper batter Kumar Kushagra also remained unscathed on 63 as the two took East to a strong score of 385/4 in 79 overs on stumps. South’s bowlers were laboured at Chepauk, and several of them took the beating from the East batters, as Shikhar Mohan (85), Abhimanyu Easwaran (72) and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (44) also put up impressive performances with the willow.

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The fans turned out in numbers at Chepuak after East Zone skipper Ishan won the toss. There was an air of excitement to watch teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in action as fans filled the stands opened for the match. The 15-year-old did not disappoint a bit and marched his way to a stroke-filled 44 from 37 balls after treading with caution at the start.

He had a fascinating battle with fellow international and senior Mohammed Siraj, who beat him with hard lengths but was then taken to the cleaners by the rising sensation.

Sooryavanshi lined the Test speedster for three fours and a six in the 12 balls he faced from him in an enthralling show for the fans. Sooryavanshi’s stay was ended by Chama V Milind on a short ball, while Easwaran also impressed well during his 72 as East were in ascendancy after the first session, having scored 133/2 in the 27 overs before lunch.

South deployed spin from both ends in the second session, but Mohan negated the challenge and kept the scoreboard ticking. Milind came and got Mohan short of his century with a short-ball ploy; however, Kishan carried on and was joined by Kushagra later.

The two batters went all cylinders behind the South’s tiring attack in the final session as they put up an unbeaten stand of 144 from 160 balls and did not lose a single wicket in the final session. After being 246/4 at tea, it was this session which East Zone stole completely apart from a strong first session. East made runs at 5.56 an over as they collected 139 runs from 25 overs to end the day on a high note.

The South bowlers struggled, and Siraj’s return was not impressive either. The speedster failed to touch 135kph for the majority of his 14 overs as he stayed in the mid-120s and was hit for 96 runs at 6.90 an over and failed to pick a single wicket.

Tripurana Vijay also took a beating, being hit for 114 runs in 22 overs at 5.20, but with a wicket to his name. Milind seemed to be the pick of the bowlers with his twin scalps for 56 runs in 13 overs, but South would feel they have a lot of work to do after East ended the day on a high note.

Brief scores: East Zone 385/4 in 79 overs (Ishan Kishan 111*, Shikhar Mohan 85; Chama V Milind 2-56, Tripurana Vijay 1-114) against South Zone