Duleep Trophy: Chennai turns up in numbers, Vaibhav, Shami oblige with autographs

Chennai turned up in numbers for the Duleep Trophy final as East Zone dominated South Zone across the opening two days at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Around 10,000 fans watched Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dazzle on Day 1 before Ishan Kishan took centre stage in the game.Vaibhav Sooryavanshi signs autographs at the Chepauk. (TNCA Photo)The cricket fans of Chennai turned up in numbers for the Duleep Trophy final, being hosted at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. East Zone took on South Zone in the summit clash, which started on Sunday, September 6.East Zone won the toss and opted to bat first with their strong line-up of strokemakers. The Ishan Kishan-led side was rewarded for the brave call straightaway as Abhimanyu Easwaran and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took the attack to the opposition, dismantling Tilak Varma's team.Duleep Trophy Final: Day 2 Live Updates PTI Photo Chepauk had close to 10,000 cricket enthusiasts in the stadium on Day 1, who made loud roars from the very start of the game. The majority of the noise was reserved for young Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who dazzled the crowd with a fantastic display of red-ball batting. Opening the innings alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav added 100 runs for the first wicket before getting dismissed off a short ball from CV Milind. The South Zone crowd did not like the fact that their favourite player was dismissed inside the first session of Day 1, but was relieved by the fact that South Zone had at least salvaged some part of the morning session.East Zone dominated the game throughout the day, with Abhimanyu Easwaran and Shikhar Mohan hitting respective fifties, while Ishan Kishan hit a sensational hundred. At the end of the day's play, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and several other East Zone players went to the crowd and signed some memorabilia, making the day a memorable experience at the iconic stadium.Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final saw a decent chunk of the crowd coming in as well, and they were greeted with some sensational batting from Ishan Kishan. Kishan scored 250 runs before retiring out due to cramps and helped East Zone go past 600 runs in the first innings.South Zone have remained behind in all sessions since the start of Day 1 and need to do a lot to bring themselves out of trouble.- EndsPublished By: Kingshuk KusariPublished On: Sep 7, 2026 14:48 IST