East Zone will lock horns with North East Zone in the first quarter-final of the Duleep Trophy 2026 campaign at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru, starting on Sunday, August 23.
East Zone couldn’t make it to the semi-final in the previous season after failing to secure a lead in the first innings against North Zone. They will be led by Ishan Kishan this season. On the other hand, North East Zone suffered elimination in the quarter-final after not bagging the first-innings lead against Central Zone last season. NE Zone will be captained by Jonathan Rongsen.
East Zone vs North East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Quarter-Final 1, Match Details
Match: East Zone vs North East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Quarter-Final 1
Time & Date: 9:30 AM IST, August 23 to 26
Venue: BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2, Bengaluru
East Zone vs North East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Quarter-Final 1 Pitch Report
The surface at this venue is expected to assist batters comparatively, as seen in the previous season. Spinners will get their fair share as the game progresses to the middle overs. However, it’s going to be a good wicket for batters.
East Zone vs North East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Quarter-Final 1 Probable XIs
East Zone
Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vc), Ishan Kishan (c), Virat Singh, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Jaiswal, Subranshu Senapati, Anukul Roy, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar
North East Zone
Techi Neri, Kishan Lyndoh, Joseph Lal Thankhuma, Arpit Subhas (wk), Vino G. Zhimomi, Jonathan Rongsen (c), Jotin Singh Pheiroijam, Ashish Thapa, Bishworjit Singh Konthoujam, Imliwati Lemtur, Lalrempuia
East Zone vs North East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026, Quarter-Final 1 Winner Prediction
Match Winner: East Zone
Comparatively, East Zone has a better squad across all three departments of the game. That said, we can expect them to take the first-innings lead quite comfortably and move through to the semi-final in this four-day affair.
