Skipper Ishan Kishan smashed a monumental 270 while Kumar Kushagra hit a fine century to put East Zone in complete command of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone by posting a colossal 708 at the end of the second innings of the match, played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Monday.
Kushagra soon joined the party from the other end as, on either side of the drinks break, South Zone introduced spinners Tripurana Vijay and Shreyas Gopal into the attack, but it didn’t change the trajectory of East Zone’s innings. Desperately seeking wickets, South Zone took the new ball after delaying it for just one over, but neither Mohammad Siraj nor MD Nidheesh could find an early breakthrough. Kishan got going immediately, collecting successive boundaries off Siraj before giving the same treatment to Nidheesh.
Kishan’s 334-ball knock, laced with 30 fours and seven sixes, registered the eighth-highest individual score in a Duleep Trophy match. Kushagra, on the other hand, hit 101 off 132 balls, studded with eight fours and five sixes, ensuring that a total in excess of 700 was registered at Chepauk for only the third time in first-class cricket history before East Zone were finally bowled out by stumps. Resuming from their overnight score of 385/4, East Zone continued to pile on the runs right from the outset. After crossing the milestone, Kishan accelerated rapidly and hit boundaries with immaculate ease to move past 250, with South Zone eagerly anticipating a declaration. Even after guiding his side past the 600-run mark, the captain showed no intention of declaring.
