Jharkhand’s pocket dynamo captain Ishan Kishan blasted an entertaining century on day 1 of the Duleep Trophy final 2026 while leading East Zone against South Zone.
The Duleep Trophy final, which signals the onset of the Indian domestic season, kicked off on Sunday, September 6, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The East Zone vs South Zone finale is filled with starpower, with the likes of Kishan, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Devdutt Padikkal, and Tilak Varma taking the field.
Kishan, the East Zone captain, won the toss and elected to bat first, and his decision was vindicated by the end of the day. At stumps on day 1, East Zone are strongly placed at 385/4, with five out of the top six batters contributing significantly.
The openers, Abhimanyu Easwaran and Sooryavanshi, posted a quickfire opening stand of 100 runs off 14.4 overs. However, the two openers and No. 4 Sudip Kumar Gharami fell in the next 47 runs.
East Zone attained stability once again with captain Kishan and No. 3 Shikhar Mohan building a fourth-wicket partnership of 94 runs off 129 balls. Mohan was then dismissed by Chama Milind, leaving East Zone in a precarious position at 241/4.
But then, Kishan and No. 6 batter Kumar Kushagra changed the momentum of the innings over the next 162 deliveries as they hammered 144 runs through extravagant strokeplay as bowlers became inconsistent and the fielders’ shoulders dropped with the setting sun in Chennai.
Kishan raised his 10th first-class century in his 67th FC fixture, while 21-year-old Kushagra built further on his first-class average of 40.
By the close of play on day 1, Kishan was unbeaten on 111*, scoring off 135 deliveries with the help of 14 fours and one six. At the other end, Kushagra cracked 63* from 75 balls, walloping four fours and five sixes, demoralizing the South Zone bowlers.
On day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final, Kishan, Kushagra, and the rest of the East Zone batsmen will be looking to pile up more runs and bat South Zone out of the contest.
Ishan Kishan’s Girlfriend Aditi Hundia Posts Instagram Story As Lefty Slams Century In Duleep Trophy Final
Meanwhile, Kishan’s girlfriend Aditi Hundia posted a heartening Instagram story for the East Zone captain following his blazing century in Chennai.
Hundia shared a picture of her watching Kishan on the screen and celebrating his century. She captioned her Insta story, “A hundred, beautifully earned.”
Check out Aditi’s Instagram story here:
Kishan and Aditi have apparently been dating for a long time. She was first spotted a few years ago in the stands when Kishan used to be part of the Mumbai Indians team in the IPL.
Over the years, their appearances together in the stadiums and off the field, as well as on social media, have become frequent, adding more steam to their relationship. Aditi had joined Kishan on the ground during the Indian team’s celebrations after winning the T20 World Cup in Ahmedabad earlier this year.
Kishan has cemented his place as India’s No. 3 in the T20I lineup and is the back-up wicket-keeper and batsman in the ODI squad. In the Test setup, Kishan seems to be only behind Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel in the pecking order.
His next international assignment will be the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan in Delhi, which begins on September 13.
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