East Zone bat on with a 760-run lead as a draw would hand them the Duleep Trophy

A drawn final goes to the side with the first-innings lead, so East Zone have no reason to declare and every reason to keep South Zone waiting

East Zone were 388 for 7 in their second innings during the second session of the final day at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, leading South Zone by 760 runs and showing no intention of declaring.

They do not need to. Under the BCCI's playing conditions for Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy knockouts, a drawn final is decided on the first-innings lead, and East Zone's is 372.

The title is theirs unless South Zone can win outright, and there is no longer enough time left in the match for that to happen.

Why there has been no declaration

A side 760 ahead on the last day would normally declare and try to bowl the opposition out. East Zone's position makes that the only way they could lose.

Declaring would hand South Zone a target, however theoretical, and give them the ball in their hands with a final to play for. Batting on removes the possibility entirely.

It also explains the decision two days earlier not to enforce the follow-on. With the first-innings lead already banked, the safest route to the trophy was to make sure the match ran out of time rather than to win it outright.

None of this is gamesmanship in any meaningful sense. The regulations reward the side that wins the first half of a final, and East Zone won it by a distance. Taking the title the way the rules allow is simply finishing the job.

The innings that decided it

East Zone's 708 in the first innings is the foundation of all of it. Captain Ishan Kishan made 270 from 334 balls, with 30 fours and seven sixes, and the total is only the third above 700 in first-class cricket at Chepauk.

South Zone replied with 336 in 107.3 overs. That was a respectable total against almost anyone else, and it left them 372 behind — far beyond the margin they needed to stay in contention for the title.

From that point the final was decided by the scorebook rather than the scoreboard.

South Zone's bowlers then spent most of the fourth and fifth days in the field again, which is a punishing return for a side that had already bowled 163 overs in the first innings.

South Zone's position

For Tilak Varma's side, winning required East Zone to be bowled out and then a chase of 761 in whatever time remained. Neither was ever realistic once the second innings passed 200.

Their only remaining objective is the one every side faces in this situation: bowl, take what wickets they can, and wait for the umpires to call the match off.

It is an unsatisfying way for a final to end, and it is exactly the outcome the first-innings rule is designed to produce when one side has dominated the opening half of a match this completely.

The conditions only sharpen the point. A Chepauk surface that allowed 708 in the first innings has not deteriorated enough to make a result likely, which is precisely why the first-innings lead was always going to decide this final.

What the title means for East Zone

East Zone are chasing their first Duleep Trophy since 2012-13, and they have reached it by the most emphatic route available.

For Kishan the timing is close to ideal. He is in India's squad for the T20 internationals against Afghanistan and for the Asian Games, and the biggest first-class innings of his career has come in a final, as captain, in the week before both.

The last session on Wednesday is a formality. East Zone will be Duleep Trophy champions for the first time in fourteen years whether the match ends in a declaration or on time.

Scorecard: East Zone 708 and 388 for 7; South Zone 336. East Zone lead by 760, second session, day 5.

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