Duleep Trophy final | Individual milestones don’t matter as much as the result: Tilak

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:35:00 +0000

Tilak says his biggest goal is to play Test cricket.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU

Skipper Tilak Varma has been the standout player for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy this year.

The Hyderabad batter was instrumental in taking the team to the final, leading from the front with unbeaten knocks of 116 and 51 in the semifinal against North.

In the summit clash, Tilak yet again stood tall, scoring a valiant 99 against East Zone, even if he couldn’t help his team avoid conceding a huge lead.

“It’s an important knock, but at the same time I was only focused on what the team needed. I could have taken more chances before, but the plan was simply to take it session by session,” said Tilak.

“If some other batter stayed with me, I was confident we [could] have batted through to the end of the day, [and] take it session-by-session till tomorrow and push for a draw. Unfortunately, we lost wickets, and the result went in their favour,” he added.

“A hundred would have been a nice reward for the hard yards I put in the heat, but individual milestones don’t matter as much as the result.”

Though the 23-year-old has quickly been elevated as vice-captain of the T20I side, he reiterated that Test cricket is his ultimate goal.

“I always say to everyone that I want to play red-ball cricket for India. That’s my biggest goal because I really love playing red-ball cricket. As a kid, I thought I’d play Test cricket first and then only white-ball cricket. I’m really keen to play red-ball cricket, and let’s see how it goes,” said Tilak.

Published – September 09, 2026 07:05 pm IST

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Duleep Trophy final | East does not give South an inch, coronation all but a matter of time

admin — Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:02:00 +0000

A five-day First Class match in India — usually reserved for knockout fixtures — is designed to give teams a chance to push for an outright result.

At the same time, it tends to produce oddities because the focus is on securing the first-innings lead, which is enough to claim victory. Once that is achieved, the contest often fizzles out. Yet the teams still have to go through the motions until at least Tea on the final day, even if the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

The 2026 Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone in all likelihood will go down in history as one such game after the latter secured the crucial first-innings lead on the fourth day at the MAC Stadium here.

South, resuming at 242 for six in pursuit of East’s massive 708, was bundled out for 336 at lunch on Wednesday.

Realistically, South’s best hope was to delay the inevitable, and that relied on Tilak Varma getting a big one. For the first two hours of the penultimate day, the left-hander did just that, positively countering Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar’s burst with the second new ball.

Tilak Varma.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

C.V. Milind supported his captain, with the duo adding 78 for the seventh wicket. But once Shikhar Mohan had Milind caught at short-leg, the end was near.

Tilak, in a rush to get to his landmark, fell agonisingly short by one run while trying to push for a single, only to give a simple return catch to off-spinner Kounain Quraishi.

Despite a 372-run lead, Ishan Kishan opted to bat the opposition out of the game and, at stumps, East was 212 for five in its second innings, ahead by 584 runs.

Though the contest was virtually sealed, a healthy crowd had gathered in the hope of seeing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi put on a show. The southpaw, though, perished early, stumped while attempting to charge down off-spinner T. Vijay.

Sooryavanshi gets stumped by Jagadeesan off Vijay’s bowling.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

Kishan — who smashed 270 in the first essay — continued from where he left off, stroking his way to a flamboyant 80 (98b, 9×4, 3×6). He was severe on spinners Vijay and Shreyas Gopal, repeatedly stepping down at every opportunity and carting them all over the park to entertain the fans.

The scores: East Zone — 1st innings: 708 in 163 overs.

South Zone — 1st innings: Ricky Bhui c Kushagra b Mukesh 1, N. Jagadeesan c Abhimanyu b Shikhar 32, Devdutt Padikkal c sub (Denish) b Mukesh 62, Shaik Rasheed lbw b Shami 27, Tilak Varma c & b Quraishi 99, R. Smaran c Kushagra b Shami 23, Shreyas Gopal c & b Quraishi 26, C.V. Milind c Gharami b Shikhar 43, T. Vijay run out 1, Mohammed Siraj lbw b Mukesh 1, M.D. Nidheesh (not out) 0; Extras (b-10, lb-4, nb-4, w-3): 21; Total (in 107.3 overs): 336.

Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-70, 3-126, 4-129, 5-174, 6-240, 7-318, 8-322, 9-336.

East Zone bowling: Shami 16-5-42-2, Mukesh 19-1-62-3, Quraishi 39.3-8-99-2, Abhijit 8-0-34-0, Shikhar 20-0-67-2, Sooryavanshi 4-0-10-0, Kishan 1-0-8-0.

Ishan Kishan and Shikhar Mohan of East Zone.
| Photo Credit:
R. RAGU

East Zone — 2nd innings: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi st. Jagadeesan b Vijay 8, Abhimanyu Easwaran c Padikkal b Siraj 3, Shikhar Mohan lbw b Rasheed 52, Ishan Kishan c Padikkal b Nidheesh 80, Kumar Kushagra (batting) 34, Sudip Kumar Gharami run out 2, Md Kounain Quraishi (batting) 26; Extras: (b-7): 7; Total (for five wkts. in 51 overs): 212.

Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-13, 3-139, 4-154, 5-160.

South Zone bowling: Siraj 7-2-17-1, Vijay 17-1-84-1, Shreyas 12-1-57-0, Nidheesh 5-1-14-1, Rasheed 7-1-20-1, Bhui 3-0-13-0.

Published – September 09, 2026 06:32 pm IST

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Md Kounain Quraishi – Artifex.News

Duleep Trophy final | Individual milestones don’t matter as much as the result: Tilak

Duleep Trophy final | East does not give South an inch, coronation all but a matter of time