India, Sept. 8 -- Mohammed Shami rolled back the clock with his inswingers while Mukesh Kumar bowled beautifully to put East Zone firmly in control of the Duleep Trophy final as South Zone stumbled to 242/6 at stumps on Day 3 at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium. Shami struck twice with the old ball, while Mukesh removed South Zone opener Ricky Bhui and the dangerous Devdutt Padikkal, leaving captain Tilak Varma unbeaten on 56 and his side still 466 runs behind East Zone's imposing first-innings 708.

The equation now looks heavily tilted towards East Zone. Ishan Kishan's marathon 270-run knock had already given his side a massive advantage. Meanwhile, the bowlers ensured South Zone could not build the sort of resistance required to stay a...