India, Sept. 10 -- Ishan Kishan and South Zone skipper Tilak Varma underlined their red-ball chops with 80 and 99 respectively, but former's half-century has more contextual value as it placed East Zone firmly on course for a Duleep Trophy triumph on the fourth day of the final here on Wednesday.

Tilak's 211-ball knock lifted South to 336 all out in their first innings but still remained 372 runs adrift of East's first dig total of 708.

In their second innings, East moved to 212 for five at close, for an overall lead of 584 runs. Kumar Kushagra (34) and Kounain Quraishi (26) were batting at close and have raised 52 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket.

But those team numbers now carry a mere academic significance as East already have the...