Ishan Kishan smashes double century in Duleep Trophy final, becomes only 3rd player to achieve rare feat

Ishan Kishan slammed a double ton in the Duleep Trophy final. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: Ishan Kishan smashed a double century for East Zone in the ongoing Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, September 07. Leading from the front, the East Zone skipper continued his impressive run from Day 1 to convert his ton into a double hundred on Day 2 of the final on Monday.

Kishan came out to bat at no.5 after a strong start from East Zone in their first innings. He went on to notch up his ton on Day 1 and continued from where he had left off on Day 2. The swashbuckling left-hander completed his double ton off 270 deliveries and raced to 250 off 301 balls before being retired hurt.

Kishan smashed a whopping 27 boundaries and seven sixes en route to his 250-run knock, taking down the pacers and spinners at Chepauk. He shared a magnificent 231-run stand for the fifth wicket with his Jharkhand teammate Kumar Kushagra, who also played a brilliant knock of 101 runs in the final.

Kishan entered the record books by achieving a rare feat with his double century against South Zone in the Duleep Trophy final. He became only the third batter to score a double hundred for East Zone in the history of the Duleep Trophy. Only former India cricketers Arun Lal and Saba Karim scored double tons for East Zone before Kishan in the Duleep Trophy.

Arun Lal scored two double tons for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy in 1986, while Karim hit an unbeaten 200-run knock for East Zone in the 1995 edition of the tournament. Arun Lal holds the record for the highest individual score for the East Zone in Duleep Trophy history with his 287-run knock against West Zone in 1986.

Kishan retired hurt at the start of the 131st over during East Zone’s first innings after reaching the 250-run mark. Having batted for nearly two days, fatigue set in for the left-hander, who was struggling in the middle before walking off the ground with the team’s physio. It remains to be seen if Kishan will return to bat again for the East Zone in the final.

Kishan will aim to convert his 250 into a triple century if he decides to bat again in his side’s first innings. The left-hander will become the first batter to score a triple ton for the East Zone and the third overall to achieve the feat in the tournament’s history.

Abhishek reports on all things sports for News9. He has been covering cricket extensively for more than five years now and is a keen follower of the game. From preserving newspaper cuts of his favourite sporting heroes to playing the game himself and then covering it from close quarters, cricket has stayed with him since childhood. He started his career with NewsX and has worked for some of the leading news organisations in the country, including Times Now and WION. He will probably be busy watching cricket/football when not crafting stories on sports and its heroes.