East all but seal title Duleep title after South's batting collapse

Ishan Kishan and South Zone skipper Tilak Varma underlined their red ball chops with 99 and 80 respectively, but former's half-century has more contextual value as it placed East Zone firmly on course for a Duleep Trophy triumph on the fourth day of the final here on Wednesday.

Tilak's 211-ball knock lifted South to 336 all out in their first innings but still remained 372 runs adrift of East's first dig total of 708. In their second innings, East moved to 212 for five at close, for an overall lead of 584 runs. Kumar Kushagra (34) and Kounain Quraishi (26) were batting at close and have raised 52 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket.

But those team numbers now carry a mere academic significance as East already have their hands around this season's Duleep Trophy, courtesy that irreversibly massive first-innings lead. However, with a couple of important Test assignments coming up - away against New Zealand and subsequently at home against Australia - the selectors now have two solid options to mull over in front of them. hiddenlangkawi.club

Kishan, who made an expansive 270 in the first innings here, was comfortable from ball one in the ensuing essay as well during his 98-ball knock. The left-hander started his run-making with a six off off-spinner Tripurana Vijay over mid-wicket and never really took his feet off the pedal. Kishan went after Vijay again towards the backend of his innings, hammering him for 4, 6, 6, 4 in successive balls in the 26th over.

Moments before that DRS saved Kishan, who added 146 runs for the third wicket with Shikhar Mohan, from a leg-before decision after on-field umpire Rohan Pandit upheld leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal's appeal. East took tea at 95 for two, having swelled the lead by 467 runs. But the 20-minute break seemed to have affected Kishan's rhythm as he soon got out, lofting pacer MD Nidheesh to Devdutt Padikkal inside the leg-side circle.

The motley Chepauk crowd hence could not see another Kishan hundred and they also had to endure the disappointment of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's early dismissal. After DRS saved him from Vijay's leg before appeal on 6, Sooryavanshi could not build something bigger, getting stumped off the same bowler by Narayan Jagadeesan.

Much before that, the audience also could not see a three-figure knock from Tilak, who resumed from overnight 56. His innings helped South, overnight 242 for six, to go past the 300-run mark, but the left-hander will rue missing a second consecutive ton after making one in the semifinal last week at Bengaluru.

The Hyderabad batter did not let go his defence-first approach even when wickets began to tumble at the other end. Eventually, his first attempt to hit out resulted in a return catch to off-spinner Quraishi. But later in the day, another Hyderabad player had his best outing in recent times.

Mohammed Siraj had looked a distant shadow of his intense self since the tour to Sri Lanka, often bowling with a shorter run-up and reduced speed. He struggled to summon the steely self in humid conditions when the 36-year-old East Zone quick Mohammed Shami made the new and old ball talk even while bowling well within himself. But in East Zone's second innings here, Siraj looked to have regained some of his familiar sharpness.

The increased nip, accuracy and corrected length meant that Siraj remained a constant threat to batters' edge. He was eventually rewarded when East Zone opener Abhimanyu Easwaran tamely guided a delivery to Padikkal at slip. However, those were tiny glittering nuggets without making any significant alteration to the match's course.

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Expecting ‘underprepared’ tracks in Japan, India wrist-spinner Varun Chakaravarthy believes spinners could play a pivotal role in the team's upcoming Asian Games campaign, even as he cautioned that unpredictable weather conditions will ultimately dictate how the pitches behave during the tournament.

Chakaravarthy has fully recovered from a Grade 2 left hamstring injury sustained during the T20I series against England, including doing rehab at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. In the Asian Games men’s T20 event, India, the gold medal winners in the last edition in Hangzhou, will begin their campaign from the quarter-final stage in Aichi-Nagoya.

"That's how it has been scheduled, so I don't have any say in that. But definitely every match and every tournament needs preparation, and that we have to do. So it's just like every other tournament – we will prepare well and whatever comes our way, we will take it," Chakaravarthy said in an exclusive interaction with IANS, facilitated by ASICS India.

Assessing the playing conditions at the Korogi Sports Park ahead of the marquee event, Chakaravarthy, who will also be in action for India’s T20Is against Afghanistan and the historic one-off clash against Japan, noted that adaptability will be key for the bowling unit.

"What I've seen is that the pitches might be a little bit underprepared. So it might help spin, but I don't know how the weather in Japan will play a role in the way pitches behave. It can have a big impact as well. We are just preparing for facing all kinds of conditions, and let's see how it goes," he added.

Reflecting on the year so far, which saw him finish as the joint-highest wicket-taker with 14 scalps in India's T20 World Cup triumph on home soil, Chakaravarthy termed it as a ‘rollercoaster’.

"It’s been lovely. I have no complaints at all. It's been a great journey till now and we won the World Cup this time, so everything is going well. I did have one hiccup with my injury, but I'm back. I feel fitter. I've done a lot of strength training and running. Credit goes to the CoE, where I trained a lot," he said.

Chakaravarthy, who also picked up 11 wickets in IPL 2026 while battling through hairline fractures in his left hand and toe, takes pride in his unconventional rise through the ranks.

"I started cricket very late. I started bowling when I was 26 and I played for India when I was 28 and a half. I'm a very late bloomer. It's been seven to eight years in cricket right now and I would say I'm in the first half of my career. There is a long way to go ahead and it's been an unconventional journey till now and I think it's going to be more like that," he reflected.

Speaking on evolving his craft, Chakaravarthy revealed that while he continuously works on adding fresh variations behind the scenes, polishing his existing skill set remains his primary objective.

“Well, it's a combination of both. Obviously, polishing and mastering the skill is always the primary thing and bringing in other variations is always on the back of my mind. I'm also working on certain new variations. When I will be able to master it is a different question, but it's a mix of both.”

Asked how he guards his mystery balls from high-tech cameras and tactical analytics, Chakaravarthy stressed that execution under pressure overrides technology. “As you mentioned, there are no secrets anymore because there are so many video analysts everywhere, and everything that you do is being recorded.

“The only thing is the human touch in cricket, where the batter won't know what I'm going to bowl to them. That has to be decided by me and I don't think any AI or video analyst can predict that. So, that's what we have to play with.”

Rather than plotting long-term milestones in a highly volatile sport, the Chennai-based Chakaravarthy prefers setting incremental targets. “I set more short-term goals rather than long-term goals because I don't think I'll be able to plan for five years down the line, but I'll be able to plan what I want to do in the next six months. I'm that sort of a guy, so I focus more on short-term goals.”

Chakaravarthy signed off by revealing that his association with ASICS began organically years ago even before formally signing up with them. “Long before I signed with ASICS in 2026, I zeroed in on these shoes during the 2022 IPL.

“That's when I started wearing them, and they were among the best I've ever worn out of all the brands out there. So when ASICS approached me, I was ready to cling on to it. It is one of the best performance brands out there, so no complaints.”

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Masked protesters wrongly gathered outside a Portsmouth hotel expecting asylum seekers. They later learned the hotel housed Pakistan's Under-19 cricket team members. A local councillor clarified the misunderstanding, and the protesters departed quickly. This incident occurred amid rising tensions following asylum seeker arrivals in the city. The England and Wales Cricket Board is reviewing security for the visiting team.

[popcorn number="192" desc="No. of runs scored by Bista in three matches of the ongoing Kanga League so far" class="Default"]

[popcorn number="1898" desc="No. of runs scored by Jay Bista in 34 first-class matches @ 32.72" class="Default"]

Attacking opener Jay Bista, 30, is currently not in Mumbai’s senior team plans, but the batter is not willing to give up. Bista, who has played 34 first-class matches and scored 1,898 runs, made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2015. He moved to Uttarakhand in 2021-22, where he scored 224 runs in four Ranji games, before returning to Mumbai, whom he last represented in the 2023-24 season, scoring 188 runs in four matches during their title-winning campaign.

Runs keep flowing

Recently, while leading Victory Cricket Club in the ongoing Dr HD Kanga Cricket League Division ‘A’, Bista has scored 192 runs in three games — 78 off 48 balls against Shivaji Park Gymkhana, 24 off 24 against PJ Hindu Gymkhana and 90 off 64 against New Hindu Cricket Club.

Bista feels there are two primary reasons why he is not being considered for Ranji selection. First, he believes Mumbai’s selection committee have deemed him a white-ball player. Second, he feels the selectors consider his age a problem.

“I don’t know what they [Mumbai selectors] are currently looking at. They haven’t included me even in the Ranji probables. I don’t think I’m that bad to not even make the probables. I’ve heard that I have been labelled as a white-ball player and someone who can’t play red-ball cricket, but I’m scoring runs in red-ball cricket. Last year, I played three Times Shield games where I scored one fifty and 150 [146 vs DY Patil Group B]. So, I’m enjoying scoring runs in red-ball cricket,” Bista told mid-day.

‘I don’t see any issue’

On the age factor, he said: “I have heard that some people feel I’m a bit old to be considered for Mumbai. But if I’m at the top of my fitness levels, then I don’t see any issue. In fact, fitness-wise, I’m just getting better every day,” added Bista, admitting it’s difficult to digest being overlooked.

“It feels bad not to be in this scheme of things because, from the age of 13 till 28, I have continuously played BCCI tournaments for Mumbai or Uttarakhand. Even now, I’m doing my job. It’s been a good start to the season, scoring runs in Kanga League,” said Bista, who has scored 1,384 runs in 35 List A matches and 1,001 in 34 T20s.

“I want to play at the highest level and that’s the only reason I returned to Mumbai. I’m a hardcore Mumbaikar and love everything about the cricket here,” concluded Bista.