The final of Duleep Trophy 2026 is being played between East Zone and South Zone. In this title match which started on Sunday (6 September), the team captained by Ishan Kishan is batting first after winning the toss. Young sensations Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Abhimanyu Easwaran once again gave East Zone a great start. Both made a partnership of 100 runs.
Vaibhav was out after playing a quick inning of 44 runs in 37 balls. A large number of spectators had come to Chepauk to watch the batting of this 15 year old player. Vaibhav made his mark in the beginning but after the first hour of play, he took an easy catch on a short ball from Chama Milind. After his return to the pavilion, Shikhar Mohan, who came to the crease, enthralled the audience with his artistic batting. This 21-year-old left-handed batsman played an inning of 85 runs in 120 balls, which included 9 fours and 3 sixes.
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Managed the team along with Ishan Kishan
Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out just before lunch due to a misunderstanding with Shikhar. He scored 72 runs in 86 balls. After this Sudeep Gharami (6) was also dismissed cheaply. After a good start, the East Zone team had lost 3 wickets in scoring 47 runs. The doors of comeback were open for South Zone but Shikhar, who came into the team in place of Virat Singh, took charge along with captain Ishan Kishan.
Shikhar and Ishaan got East Zone out of trouble by making a partnership of 96 runs for the fourth wicket. Shikhar seemed to be easily moving towards his third first class century but he played the ball bowled by Milind on his wickets. He impressed cricket experts by presenting a great mix of aggression and caution during his innings.
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Who is Shikhar Mohan?
Shikhar was born on 18 May 2005 in Ranchi. He plays domestic cricket for Jharkhand. He made his debut in Ranji Trophy only last season. Shikhar impressed in his debut season and scored 613 runs in 12 innings at an average of 55. He scored a double century against Nagaland and a century against Baroda.
Shikhar has also performed well at the age-group level. He scored 623 runs at an average of 77.88 in the Colonel CK Nayudu Trophy 2023-24 and then collected 887 runs in 13 innings. Shikhar then scored 391 runs in 7 innings for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.