East Zone's captain Ishan Kishan celebrates his century on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 Final between South Zone and East Zone, in Chennai. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkumar)Coming into the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, East Zone may have started as favourites. But still doubts remained over the middle-order. Against North East Zone it was Sudip Kumar Gharami and Shahbaz Ahmed who had bailed them out after a wobble. In the semifinals against Central Zone, if not for their openers Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran, they would have struggled to enter the final at Chepauk.Choosing to bat first against a South Zone attack that lacked bite thanks to some debatable selection choices, East Zone ensured they dominated the opening day’s proceedings. From the moment Sooryavanshi and Easwaran got them off to a commanding start in front of a strong 10,000-odd spectators that stayed throughout the day, East ensured South chased the leather through the course of the Sunday. Easwaran (72) and Shikhar Mohan (85), who carved out contrasting knocks, couldn’t convert them into centuries.But unbeaten innings from skipper Ishan Kishan (111) and Kumar Kushagra (63) meant East ended Day 1 at 385/4. After the top-order laid the perfect platform, Ishan made merry. The fifty came off 61 deliveries and the hundred off the 122nd delivery, as he calmly went about giving his team a glorious opportunity to win their first Duleep Trophy since the 2012-13 season.For the South it was a day where their attack hardly came close to troubling the East. With Vidhwath Kaverappa missing this game with an injury, in came Chama Milind. Mohammed Siraj replaced K Sai Teja. While their spinners Tripurana Vijay and Shreyas Gopal – playing his 100th first-class fixture – hardly made an impact, East milked the runs without breaking sweat. However, what would be a concern in terms of the big picture is the performance of Siraj.Having looked off-colour in the Colombo Test, where he struggled for rhythm, Siraj was made to play the final at the last instance of the national selectors. Starting the proceedings here – again with a shortened run-up which he did so at SSC as well, he bowled to Sooryavanshi with five fielders in the deep. Long-on, long-off, deep point, deep square-leg and a deep third against the teenager was how he started off.In the subsequent overs, the long-on dropped into mid-on, but that hardly made any difference as Sooryavanshi took the seamer apart in the seventh over of the day. A six and two boundaries in the over aside, his first spell read: 5-0-41-0 with Easwaran and Sooryavanshi slamming boundaries. The left-hander scored 26 of those. He would eventually end the day with an analysis of 14-1-96-0, as he stayed wayward through the day. After stumps Mohammed Shami was seen having a long chat with Siraj, who clocked mostly between late 120kmph to early 130kmph, hardly reminiscent of the hostile pacer he is.While Sooryavanshi’s innings was cut short at 44 off 37, with a mistimed pull ending in the hands of the deep mid-wicket fielder, it was Easwaran who was the most authoritative. Against the pacers, including Siraj, he pulled with total control and used his feet to the off-spin of Vijay, who struggled for control through the day.Story continues below this adRepeated half-trackers and lack of control in line and length meant he provided batsmen ample opportunities to pick the pockets and score off. An economy rate of 5.18 in his 22 overs said all about his bowling. Despite being part of the Test squad, Easwaran hasn’t come close to earning a Test cap, but in domestic circuit he remains a consistent scorer. A century was there for the taking, before he ran himself out going for a tight single with lunch just minutes away.In the second session, the left-handed Mohan, replacing Virat Singh, took centre stage. The highly-rated 21-year-old is known for his compact technique, which came to the forefront. Each of his nine boundaries and three sixes had a touch of class, in particular the lofted drives.What Easwaran and Mohan failed to do, Ishan did with splendid strokeplay, mixing caution and aggression. With the pitch being on the flatter side, he ensured the runs that were there for the taking weren’t missed. In pursuit of his century, he did swallow his ego – another innings that underlined his maturity. Despite plenty of invitations to go over the top, he didn’t budge an inch. The South attack even resorted to a barrage of short deliveries in the hope Ishan or Kushagra would miscue one. But neither took the bait. They wore them down with their patience before unleashing boundaries.Ishan was clear with his approach. At Bengaluru, he couldn’t control his white-ball instincts. The new version of him has shown he is a quick learner. and He didn’t go chasing for deliveries that ought to be left alone. When he wanted to free his arms, he did so with total disdain, leaving South with plenty of work to do before the game slipped away.Story continues below this adBrief scores: East Zone 385/4 in 79 overs (Ishan Kishan 111 n.o, Shikhar Mohan 85, Abhimanyu Easwaran 72, Kumar Kushagra 63) vs South Zone.