CHENNAI: Sometime during the pre-match press conference at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on the eve of the Duleep Trophy final, East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan made a candid remark when asked about veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who is playing his 100th first-class match. While explaining the drive and hunger the 36-year-old has to make a comeback, Kishan paused, smiled and said: “... because who better than me can judge about hunger right now.”
It was an off-handed comment from the keeper-batter, but the underlying message was intelligible. Having reiterated his love for red-ball cricket after the semifinal, the 28-year-old made it clear that he was on a mission to break the doors down and make his way back to the Indian Test team as he did in white-ball cricket. Keeping the messaging clear is one thing, but walking the talk, doing it with the bat in the hot and humid conditions of Chennai is another.
Over the first two days of the final, Kishan did just that. And then some more as he blunted the South Zone bowling attack with a marathon double hundred. For a little over eight and a half hours across two days, Kishan ran riot, smashing a sensational 270, taking East Zone to 708 all out at stumps.
If there ever was an innings of statement, this was it. On day one, he batted for over 217 minutes, cruised towards a breezy century in 122 balls — a knock that had no false shots or half chances or dropped catches — in front of chief selector Ajit Agarkar. If it was in his area to be punished, Kishan took it. And he did so without taking any undue risks or playing aerial shots unless necessary.
The short-ball barrage from Mohammed Siraj and CV Milind, spin of Shreyas Gopal, T Vijay, pace of MD Nidheesh… nothing proved effective against Kishan, who pulled anything that was short and drove everything that was full and in his arc and yet kept it along the ground. If the way he batted on Sunday was domination on a flat pitch, on Monday, Kishan made South bowlers look toothless.
Knowing full well that the best way to win the trophy was to out-bat South Zone, Kishan piled on the misery of a tired bowling attack. Siraj looked a shadow of himself. South Zone had not picked top-quality spinners despite players like R Sai Kishore being available and Kishan was going for the kill. So much so that the only way he was walking off the pitch was to attend to treatment as he got hit on the groin. After treatment, he continued. A little after the lunch break, he eventually crossed the double hundred mark. The smiles came out, and so did the celebration.
Such was the control he showed with the bat that less than 10 per cent of his runs came from the third-man and fine-leg region. His majority scoring areas were between cover and deep square-leg as Kishan showed utter disdain for everything that was thrown at him. He crossed 250 soon, was cramping badly and had to walk off the field. With his team nearing 700, no one would have blamed or questioned him if he waited out and declared late in the evening.
Kishan, however, was not done. Even as his team was 680/7 in the final hour of Day two, he walked out again, batting on 250. He came out and batted for 54 minutes in his pursuit of a triple-hundred. After batting for 522 minutes, in the penultimate over of the day, he eventually was caught at long-on, taking the long walk back to the pavilion.
He may not have surpassed his highest first-class score or reached the triple century, but the 28-year-old reiterated, this time with the bat, how he has changed his mindset from three years ago. And is now hungry for more. “I met him when he was 16 years old. I have seen his growth as a teenager. The best part is the mindset he has carried since he was a child. He has a mindset of winning the match and showing the team. He doesn't care about his personality. The best part is that when Jharkhand won the SMAT for the first time, he led the team from the front.
That is the advantage of being in the team. You get a morale boost. He is a brilliant captain. He covers all the bases. If the team does well, there will be a possibility for him to make a comeback,” Ishan Jaggi, former Jharkhand cricketer who has seen Kishan since he made his debut, told this daily.
For someone who had been away from the Test team since late 2023, Kishan knows the only way to get the attention of the selectors is by playing knocks. At a time when the squad has both Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel in the squad, Kishan has sent a timely reminder to the team management and selectors. That he is not giving up. And he is going to do everything in his power to ensure he is considered the Test team again.