Ishan Kishanplayed a blinder of an innings on the opening day of the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday. The East Zone captain scored 111 not out as the team closed day one on 385/4 in full control of the contest. His eagerness to play red-ball cricket and do well is a clear indication that he wants to be an all-format player, looking to represent India in Tests as well.
Kishan hasn’t played Tests since July 2023, but ever since his return to international cricket after disciplinary issues that same year, he looks like a man on a mission. Since January, he has become an integral part of the T20I team. His performances in the 2026 T20 World Cup were pivotal to India’s triumph, including blistering fifties against Pakistan, and New Zealand in the final. Later in the year, he played ODIs too against Afghanistan and England. A lesser player would be happy with that kind of comeback to international cricket, but Kishan wants more.
He wants to play for India in Tests too. And he knows that it won’t be easy since Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel have done well in the longest format. But Kishan has not given up. He is going for the impossible — in a manner of speaking. He wants to score at every opportunity, and who knows, tomorrow, one of Pant and Jurel might lose his place in the side, paving the way for Kishan.
Deep Dive
The 28-year-old went out to bat at 147/3
The 28-year-old went out to bat at 147/3 with East Zone losing three wickets in fairly quick succession. But Kishan wasn’t bogged down by that. He looked good. By the end of day one, he had taken just 135 balls for his runs, with the help of 14 fours and one six. A strike rate of 82.22! With No.6 Kumar Kushagra (63 off 75), he added an unbeaten 144 runs for the fifth wicket to put East Zone in a commanding position. If East Zone go on to win the final, they will have Kishan’s batting in the final session a lot to thank for.
Abhishek Sharma can learn a thing or two from Kishan. As of now, the Punjab player plays only white-ball cricket, a very large amount of which is T20 cricket. It’s well established that there is no better format for a batter to improve than red-ball cricket. It makes batters patient with much better shot selection, which will come in handy in T20s as well as one-dayers.
Assuming the Duleep Trophy final ends on September 10, Kishan will only have a couple of days to prepare himself for the first T20I against Afghanistan at New Delhi on September 13. But the Jharkhand batsman is so determined these days that no challenge is unconquerable for him. On the eve of the final, Kishan sounded as if switching from one format to the other in just two days isn’t such a big deal. That reflects his mental toughness and absolute passion for the game. Tilak Varma’s South Zone would hope they get rid of Kishan early on day two, because if they don’t, they might be pushed to a point from which there is no return.
ishan kishanduleep trophyinternational crickettest cricket
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