East Zone’s captain Ishan Kishan plays a shot on day 2 of the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 final cricket match between South Zone and East Zone, in Chennai. (PTI)
A triple century seemed on the cards after he crossed 250, but Kishan said that personal landmarks never occupied his mind. Interestingly, he himself was unaware that it had been 10 years since he scored a first-class double century. “Honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about 50, forget 300. I was only thinking about 50-run partnerships,” Kishan said.
Because i kept the team’s goal ahead of my own runs, “I would rate this innings very highly. With East having won the toss and opted to bat, the priority was to build a total that would put South under pressure.
But the intent, he said, was never to chase numbers. I have enough confidence in my shots to know that if I play well, I will either clear the field or find the gap,” he said. There were moments when I could have played more attacking shots, but the priority was to spend time in the middle, make good decisions and build a big total,” he said. Having spent to two years grinding it out in domestic cricket, he said the experience taught him to simplify his game. You realise there are so many players scoring runs and that you have to perform better to get back,” he said.
CHENNAI: Ishan Kishan has developed a habit of saving his best for the big occasion. “I didn’t change anything in my game plan. I was just batting normally. Once I got set, my thought was not to throw my wicket away. For Kishan, the most satisfying aspect of the innings was the temperament he showed. That approach was shaped by a mindset Kishan believes has changed considerably during his time away from the Indian team. “When you’re playing for India regularly, sometimes you get into a flow and your growth can stagnate. Going back to domestic cricket makes you start from zero.
Last year, he led Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title and produced a match-winning century in the final, a performance that helped him earn his way back into India’s T20I setup. After playing a matchwinning hand against Pakistan in Colombo in the T20 World Cup earlier in the year, Kishan delivered again in the Duleep final on Monday, leading East Zone against South at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.