Sunil Gavaskar slams East Zone for not going for outright Duleep Trophy win: ‘Prolonged their second innings…’

Legendary India opener Sunil Gavaskar has criticised East Zone for not going for an outright victory in the 2026 Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, despite securing a substantial first-innings lead that eventually helped them claim the title.

The final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai ended in a draw, with East Zone winning the trophy by virtue of their 372-run first-innings lead. Gavaskar, however, questioned the team's approach after they chose to bat again rather than attempt to dismiss South Zone for a second time.

East Zone, who scored 708 runs in the first innings, had an overall lead of 760 in their second innings on the fifth day of the Duleep Trophy final when the captains of both teams, Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma, shook hands.

Sunil Gavaskar questions East Zone's approach

"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 lunch time itself, when it was clear that in the two sessions remaining, South Zone was never going to chase down a score more than 650 runs," the former India captain opined in his column for Mid-Day.

Recently, India failed to win the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo, with the Test having ended in a draw courtesy Sonal Dinusha's unbeaten century.

India won the series 1-0 following their 165-run win in the first Test in Galle, but failed to take all 20 wickets in the second Test, with Sri Lanka declaring their second innings at 429/9. At that time, the Lankans had a lead of 216 runs.

"This business of the first innings lead being enough, is one of the main reasons India struggle 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 explained.

In the last few years, the formats of the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy have come under scrutiny, with teams often criticised for settling for a first-innings lead rather than pushing for an outright victory.

The format has also seen sides pile up totals of 700 or more, effectively removing the possibility of a comeback and reducing the time available to force a result.

Gavaskar feels that Indian bowlers will continue to struggle as long as the current format remains in place.

"Just like it takes time for a batter to learn how to go from 20 and 30 to a half-century and from 70 and 80 to a century, so also understanding how to get 10 wickets in the second innings takes time.

"There’s the question of stamina, of course, for after four days of tense cricket, not just the physical but the mental stress also can be too much.

"And the one way to learn how to deal with that is at the first-class level. But, if a team that has taken a huge first innings lead is simply not interested in being on the field again, then how does one get the experience?," he questioned.