Ishan Kishan battled humid conditions to construct a monumental 270, reminding the selectors of his red-ball credentials and propelling East Zone to a mammoth 708 on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone on Monday. Kumar Kushagra too struck his sixth first-class hundred (101, 132b), providing a shining support act to Kishan’s epic knock, which spanned 522 minutes and 334 balls across nearly two days.
South Zone will start afresh on the third day after claiming the final East Zone wicket in the closing minutes of the day. But the most compelling story of the day was Kishan’s effort, which came in the presence of three national selectors. The slowdown was not forced by an exceptional spell or a challenging pitch but was instead a deliberate attempt to wear down the bowlers and give his side the best chance of posting a total well beyond the opponents’ reach. But Kishan returned to haunt South Zone soon after Mohammad Shami was dismissed in the early minutes of the final session, moving closer to a maiden triple hundred.
Unfortunately, he could not join the elite club of batters who have scored triple hundreds in the Duleep Trophy, namely Raman Lamba (1987) and Gagan Khoda (2001), but that does not take any sheen off his knock. By then, Kishan had added 230 runs with Kushagra for the fifth wicket in just 290 balls and 140 with Anukul Roy (40, 86b) for the sixth wicket, further distancing South Zone from the match.
