Chennai, Sept 9: East Zone strengthened their grip on the Duleep Trophy title, taking a massive 584-run lead over South Zone at the end of the fourth day of the final, with skipper Ishan Kishan and Shikhar Mohan striking half-centuries.
Kishan top-scored with 80 while Mohan contributed 52 as East Zone reached 212 for five in their second innings after bowling South Zone out for 336.
Kishan, who has enjoyed a prolific outing in the final, took his match aggregate to an impressive 350 runs.
Earlier, South Zone added 94 runs to their overnight total for the loss of their remaining four wickets. Tilak Varma came agonisingly close to a century but was dismissed for 99, while CV Milind offered strong resistance before falling.
Mukesh Kumar was the pick of the East Zone bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 62.
Despite securing a massive 372-run first-innings lead, East Zone opted against enforcing the follow-on. They suffered early setbacks when Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dismissed for eight and Abhimanyu Easwaran also departed cheaply.
Kishan and Mohan then steadied the innings before launching an aggressive assault as East Zone’s lead crossed the 400-run mark.
Kishan shifted gears after completing his half-century, taking on Tripurana Vijay in one over with a sequence of 4, 6, 6 and 4. However, he missed out on another century after being dismissed for 80.
Mohan was subsequently trapped lbw by Shaikh Rasheed, while Sudip Gharami also fell. Kumar Kushagra and Md Kounain Quraishi then saw out the remaining overs and added an unbeaten half-century partnership.
With a 584-run lead and South Zone facing a daunting task in the final innings, East Zone are firmly in command and appear well placed to seal the title.
Brief scores: East Zone 708 & 212/5; South Zone 336. East Zone lead by 584 runs.
