270 Ishan Kishan lights up Duleep Trophy final; The East Zone piles up 708 against the South Zone

Ishan Kishan (Image credit: BCCI Domestic) Ishan Kishan produced an outstanding batting performance in difficult wet conditions as East Zone posted a mammoth 708 against South Zone on the second day of the Duleep Trophy final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday. Kishan scored a massive 270, again showing the selectors his ability in red-ball cricket. Three national selectors were present to watch his innings.He batted for 522 minutes and faced 334 balls over almost two days. His innings was the biggest highlight of a dominant batting display from the East Zone.

Kushagra provides strong support

Kumar Kushagra also played an important role, scoring his sixth first-class century.The 21-year-old made 101 off 132 balls, with eight fours and five sixes. He attacked the south zone pitchers with shots to both sides of the goal.However, he could not stay until the end. His casual stroke against a short delivery from Tripurana Vijay ended up in the hands of CV Milinda at square leg.

Kishan misses out on a triple century

Kishan moved closer to a small group of batsmen to score triple centuries in the Duleep Trophy.Raman Lamba and Gagan Khoda are the only batsmen to achieve this feat in 1987 and 2001 respectively.Kishan eventually fell for 270, but his innings remained one of the most impressive knocks of the tournament.There was a touch of Virender Sehwag in his bat — he attacked with confidence, scored quickly when needed and took full advantage of the conditions.

A slower second hundred

Kishan reached his first century on Sunday in just 122 balls.His second hundred took longer, the next 100 runs coming off 148 balls. The slowdown was not due to a difficult pitch or the special magic of the South Zone pitchers.Instead, Kishan seemed to be taking fewer risks, focusing on wearing out the bowlers and helping the East Zone build a huge unit.He completed his second first-class double century in 270 balls when he hit part-time spinner Devdutt Padikkal over covers for a boundary.

Kishan attacks the spinners

After reaching 200, Kishan shifted gears again.He scored the next 50 runs off just 31 balls, taking on Shreyas Gopal and Tripurana Vijay.Both the spinners were hit for two sixes each. Kishan scored 94 runs off 100 balls against Shreyas while Vijay conceded 70 runs off 88 balls.Kishan’s main shots were pulls and drives. He hit 22 fours with these shots.

South zone pitchers struggle

South Zone bowlers made very little impact for the second day in a row.Mohammed Siraj, their main fast bowler, could not trouble the East Zone batsmen as the flat pitch and high-quality batting made life difficult for the bowling attack.Kishan also had one awkward moment when CV Milind’s left arm pacemaker hit him in the stomach. He received prompt medical attention and resumed batting.

Kishan departs after 250

After a marathon shift, Kishan finally got tired.He walked off the field injured after scoring 250 off 301 balls, 27 fours and seven sixes.His innings had already done most of the damage.The East Zone added 106 runs in the first half and another 135 after lunch. Kishan also shared a 230-run partnership with Kushagra for the fifth wicket in just 290 balls.He then added 140 with Anukul Roy, who scored 40 off 86 balls, for the sixth wicket.

Kishan does not reach 300

Kishan returned to the middle after Mohammad Shami was dismissed at the start of the last session.With East Zone already in a dominant position, he had a chance to become only the third batsman to score a triple century in the Duleep Trophy.But the landmark remained out of reach.Kishan hit Vijay, who finished with figures of 4/180, straight into the hands of Ravichandran Smaran near the screen.By this time, however, Kishan had done more than enough to put the Eastern Zone in a commanding position.