Off his 301st delivery, Ishan Kishan defended Ricky Bhui and called for the physio before walking off retired hurt with 250 to his name. Chennai’s heat managed to do what South Zone couldn’t – to end Ishan’s stay in the middle, albeit temporarily. One could see it coming in the few overs before he walked away, when he was cramping badly in the heat, denying singles and choosing to go for the big hits. It was the second battle the left-hander faced apart from overcoming the boredom of swatting a hapless South Zone attack. He would later return to finish with 270, by which time South were down on their knees as East Zone ended Day Two with a whopping 708 all out on board.

In the 163 overs they sent down across the first innings, spread over two days, it would be hard even for the broadcast production team to cull out a phase or spell where they consistently challenged the East batsmen. Apart from the deliveries that took wickets, they didn’t create any chances. Having conceded 385/4 on the opening day, they were made to chase leather again, with Ishan and Kumar Kushagra (101 off 132b, 8×4, 5×6) batting them into submission. The 230-run partnership between the two Jharkhand wicketkeepers meant East have one hand on the Duleep Trophy, which they last won in 2012.

There are reasons why Jharkhand are emerging as a domestic force; one of them is their batsmen. After Shikhar Mohan’s 85 set the tone on Day 1, Ishan and Kushagra took over on Day 2. Having already put on 144 off 162 deliveries in the second half of Day 1 at a rapid pace, on Monday it was all about consolidation. Kushagra, like Ishan, is known for his aggressive brand of cricket. By aggression, he isn’t reckless, but one who prefers to play the shots if the opportunity presents itself. Given the attack he faced, he didn’t have to play anything extraordinary. Play the merit of the ball, and the runs were there for the taking.

But it was Ishan who grabbed the headlines again during his 522 minutes-stay, where he faced 334 deliveries for his 270, which included 30 boundaries and seven sixes. Having taken the limelight on Sunday with a wonderfully paced innings, he had the chance to show his hungry side.

There were moments where South threw the bait at him, setting up a packed field on the leg-side with their pacers testing him to play the pulls and hooks. Ishan not only restrained but also found ways to score with control. At one point on the second day, off-spinner Tripurana Vijay even operated with just two fielders on the off-side, tempting Ishan to play a reverse-sweep or anything out of the box. A young Ishan may have fallen to the trap, but he is a batsman who intends to show he wants to play red ball cricket at the highest level.

At 28, Ishan is not just a different batsman, but a different individual, one who prefers to make the most of the opportunity he gets. Over the past 12 months, he has already shown that no door is impossible to breach. Thanks to extraordinary knocks in the white-ball game, which include a batting evolution where he now even uses large pockets of the off-side field to score off spinners, he has already emerged as the first-choice wicketkeeper ahead of Sanju Samson in T20Is and is threatening to dislodge KL Rahul in ODIs.

Test ambition

In Tests, the spot still appears a distance away with Rishabh Pant ahead of him. Then there is Dhruv Jurel, who is playing as a specialist batsman. In India A, N Jagadeesan is ahead in the pecking order. But how long that remains unchanged would depend on how Ishan stays consistent in red-ball cricket.

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His presence in India’s white-ball teams may not give him enough opportunities to play in the Ranji Trophy and stake a claim for a recall in the Test squad. Hence, he has no choice but to make the most of the limited red-ball chances that come his way.

To dislodge two set wicketkeepers in the Test side, it needs special knocks. Or rather, big scores that grab the selectors’ attention. So even if one keeps South’s timid attack aside, how Ishan managed the 250 deserves appreciation.

After retiring hurt at 250, and after spending enough time hydrating, during which time Kounain Quraishi and Mohammed Shami frustrated them further with a 54-run stand after Anukul Roy scored 45, Ishan returned. The fluency was missing, but he was prepared to fight it out, in the hope of taking it to the third morning, but a tired hit down the ground could only reach the fielder at long-on.

Brief Scores: East Zone 708 all out in 163 overs (Ishan Kishan 270, Kumar Kushagra 101; Tripurana Vijay 4/180, Chama Milind 2/88, Shreyas Gopal 2/165) vs South Zone.