Ishan Kishan batted for 135 balls on Day 1. He faced another 175 balls across almost two sessions on the second day in Chennai. Fatigue had finally set in.
The East Zone captain looked tired, and out came the physio. After a brief chat, Ishan left the field, walking off retired hurt just before tea with an unbeaten 250 to his name.
But Ishan wasn’t done.
Sixteen overs into the final session of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone, after East Zone lost two more wickets, the left-hander walked out to bat again. He was the ninth batter to fall, in the final over of the day, as East Zone were eventually bowled out for a humongous 708.
Ishan had started the day on 111 not out, having reached his century in 122 balls on the opening evening. He ended Day 2 with 270 runs from 334 balls, comprising 30 boundaries and seven sixes.
Looking weary yet again, and taking on the responsibility of safeguarding the final wicket, Ishan launched a tossed-up delivery from spinner Tripurna Vijay over mid-wicket, looking to clear the long-on fence. But fielder Smaran Ravichandran kept his eyes on the ball and completed a wonderful catch in the deep, just in front of the ropes, to deny Ishan a glorious triple century.
Yet, for Ishan, the knock had already entered the Duleep Trophy record books.
Where does Ishan Kishan’s 270 rank among the greatest Duleep Trophy performances?
With the 20 runs he added in the final session on Day 2, Ishan registered the eighth-highest individual score in a Duleep Trophy match. He surpassed the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (265) and Ajay Jadeja (264), but his dismissal ended his bid to climb even higher up the chart.
Highest individual score in a Duleep Trophy match:
320 – Raman Lamba, NZ vs WZ, 1987
300* – GK Khoda, CZ vs SZ, 2001
292 – SS Bhave, WZ vs SZ, 1994
287 – Arun Lal, EZ vs WZ, 1986
278 – S Manjrekar, WZ vs CZ, 1987
275 – LS Rajput, WZ vs CZ, 1987
274 – V Sehwag, NZ vs SZ, 1999
270 – Ishan Kishan, EZ vs SZ, 2026
Those 20 extra runs also took him past Cheteshwar Pujara (256*, Blue vs Red, 2016) and Jaiswal to register the second-highest individual score in a Duleep Trophy final.
Highest individual scores in a Duleep Trophy final:
320 – Raman Lamba, NZ vs WZ, 1987
270 – Ishan Kishan, EZ vs SZ, 2026
265 – Yashasvi Jaiswal, WZ vs SZ, 2022
256* – Cheteshwar Pujara, Blue vs Red, 2016
216* – Aunshuman Gaekwad, WZ vs NZ, 1987
210* – Yusuf Pathan, WZ vs SZ, 2010
The knock also remains the second-best performance by an East Zone batter in a Duleep Trophy game, behind Arun Lal’s 287.
Ishan’s 270 has firmly kept East Zone in the driver’s seat in the final, leaving South Zone with only one option — bat and try to go past 708 over the next three days.
