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Mukesh, Sooryavanshi & Shami fire East Zone past Central Zone into Duleep Trophy final

Mukesh, Sooryavanshi & Shami fire East Zone past Central Zone into Duleep Trophy final

Shami, Sooryavanshi fire East Zone past Central Zone into Duleep Trophy final Photograph: (Others)

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Mukesh Kumar’s seven-wicket match haul and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s explosive 92 powered East Zone past Central Zone by four wickets to secure their spot in the Duleep Trophy final.

India internationals, including seamers Mukesh Kumar and Mohammed Shami, alongside batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, powered East Zone past Central Zone by four wickets to reach the Duleep Trophy final this year. While Mukesh returned with seven wickets across two innings and Shami five, Sooryavanshi’s exploits at the top in the first innings were enough to keep their noses in front as East Zone reached the summit clash. Captain Ishan Kishan remained unbeaten during the run chase, scoring 39, including four fours and a six.

East Zone’s Kishan won the toss and elected to bowl first at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence Ground 1 in Bengaluru. Opener and keeper batter Aryan Juyal weathered the early storm despite wickets falling regularly at the other end with his gritty 46 off 113 balls. The lower middle-order provided the base as Rinku Singh top-scored with 60 off 88 balls.

Yash Thakur’s 30 at the death helped Central Zone put on 266 in the first innings. For the East Zone, seamers Mukesh and Shami picked up four and two wickets, respectively.

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In reply, East Zone got off to a flyer. Sooryavanshi scored the quickest fifty in the competition’s history, and domestic giant Abhimanyu Easwaran scored 69. Vaibhav missed out on a well-deserved hundred by just eight runs (92 in 81 balls), with Harsh Dubey accounting for Kumar Kushagra on the very next ball. Easwaran departed soon after and so did the rest of the batters, as the batting collapse saw East Zone equalling Central Zone’s tally of 266 runs.

East Zone Storm into Duleep Trophy Final

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Shami and Mukesh tore through Central Zone’s second innings by dismissing them for a mere 158. Shami, who last played for India during the triumphant 2025 Champions Trophy campaign, picked up three wickets. Mukesh was the star with the ball in hand, returning with four to complete a seven-wicket haul in the match.

Sooryavanshi and Easwaran added 61 for the first wicket during the chase before Yash Thakur dismissed the dangerous Sooryavanshi on 40, courtesy of a world-class catch by Central Zone captain Rajat Patidar in the deep.

Wickets kept falling, but Kishan stood his ground, and alongside Shami, who hit the winning runs, helped his team enter the Duleep Trophy final.

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Gautam Sodhi

Meet Gautam, a seasoned journalist with over eight years of experience in covering the world of sports. I am a self-proclaimed cricket fanatic, having a deep passion for the game a...Read More