Sunil Gavaskar is not impressed with the way the Duleep Trophy 2026 final ended. The former India National Team opener slammed Ishan Kishan’s East Zone for not going for an outright win against South Zone, which ended the match by mutual agreement.
Thanks to Ishan Kishan’s 270-run knock, East Zone posted 708 in their first innings before bowling out South Zone for 336. Despite having a lead of 372 runs, East Zone went to bat for another 100 overs in the second innings to score 388 runs for 7 wickets only. The fate of the match was by then clear; the advantage was with East Zone.
Sunil Gavaskar points out the disappointing part of the 2026 Duleep Trophy final
Gavaskar questioned the way the captains of both teams ended the match. Before the scheduled conclusion time of the match, East Zone and South Zone captains agreed to put a curtain on the contest. With the first innings lead, Ishan Kishan’s side had a clear chance to go for an outright win. But they took a very defensive approach, batting unnecessarily for more than 100 overs in the second innings.
“The disappointing part was that East Zone did not go for an outright win and instead prolonged their second innings unnecessarily. That both skippers agreed to end the game earlier than scheduled also doesn’t sit well.”
“If the game was to be stopped early, then why wasn’t it stopped at lunchtime itself, when it was clear that in the two sessions remaining, South Zone was never going to chase down a score of more than 650 runs,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Mid-Day.
Sunil Gavaskar mentioned India vs Sri Lanka Colombo Test
Further in his column, Gavaskar connected the Duleep Trophy 2026 final to the recently played Sri Lanka vs India Test match in Colombo. According to the former cricketer, because of these kinds of matches without bowling in the second innings, bowlers are not learning how to bowl in the second innings of the game at international stages.
“This business of the first innings lead being enough is one of the main reasons India struggles to take 20 wickets on good pitches. How does a team learn to take 20 wickets if they don’t bowl in two innings in a domestic game? India huffed and puffed on the last day of the second Test in Sri Lanka and couldn’t take the last four wickets for a victory,” Gavaskar said.
Sunil Gavaskar praises Ishan Kishan-led East Zone’s batting
However, Sunil Gavaskar praised Ishan Kishan-led East Zone batters for their excellent display against the South Zone team. While South Zone had big names like Tilak Varma, Devdutt Padikkal, and a lot of other seasoned domestic cricketers, East Zone’s batting had only Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the star attraction.
“It’s a good sign for Indian cricket to see a team with just one big name in batting and one big name in bowling lift the trophy. What it shows is that if a team is well-led and combines well, then they can win matches and trophies,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.