Duleep Trophy 2024: Ishan Kishan hits a century in the first class | News

Sanju Samson was called up as Kishan’s replacement in the India D team, forcing him to be reassigned to India C.

Back to the match, India C’s plight was further compounded when captain Ruturaj Gaikwad returned to the hut with an ankle injury after facing just two balls.

However, any major concerns about Gaikwad’s fitness disappeared when he returned to bat after Kishan’s dismissal and posted an unbeaten score of 46 (50b, 7×4, 2×6) to guard the crease along with Manav Suthar (8 batting).

But the day belonged to Kishan, who added another solid brick to his comeback in red-ball cricket.

The left-handed bowler had scored a hundred in the opening round of Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh in the recently concluded Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Tamil Nadu.

That match in Coimbatore was his first match with a red ball after the Test match against the West Indies in Port of Spain in July 2023. Here too, he continued his redeeming performance.

He was teamed up with Baba Indrajith (78, 136b, 9×4) as the duo put on 189 runs for the third wicket stand, which put India C in a dominant position.

Indrajith also had his share of the action as the Tamil Nadu batsman defeated pacer Navdeep Saini at slips just before lunch, after which he left the field.

But Indrajith was called back to bat again as Saini had overshot that delivery.

However, all this drama at the other end could not deter Kishan as he continued to batter the Indian B bowlers.

Kishan played late and close to his body to contain the early movement, which was evident from the 10 boundaries he hit over the square and fine leg regions.

He had to make that technical adjustment as spinners R Sai Kishore and Rahul Chahar bowled just 17 overs together that day.

At times his power overshadowed his finesse, as when the opportunity arose, the left-handed pitcher did not hesitate to flex his muscles.

He hit Saini for two sixes in the fine leg region and lifted Mukesh Kumar once over mid-wicket for maximum scores.

He was eventually bowled by pacer Mukesh, the most successful Indian bowler with three wickets, but he has already put India C in a strong position.

After Kishan’s departure, India C got even more space when Gaikwad came back and made some quick runs to push India B against the wall.

Short score: India C: 357/5 in 79 overs (Ishan Kishan 111, Baba Indrajith 78, Ruturaj Gaikwad 46 batting; Mukesh Kumar 3/76) vs India B.

First publication: Sep 12, 2024 | 7:36 PM IST