Ishan Kishan's 270 leads East Zone to a mammoth 708 on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy Final

Xtra Time Newsweek: A massive 270 from skipper Ishan Kishan pushed East Zone to a commanding 708 on Day 2 of the Duleep Trophy final, leaving South Zone with a difficult task to stay in contention.

East Zone transformed an already strong overnight position into total dominance over the course of 163 overs, with Kishan providing the match-defining innings. Kumar Kushagra's aggressive century, along with vital contributions from the lower order, kept South Zone bowlers on the pitch for nearly two full days in the Chennai heat.

By the time the final wicket fell, East Zone had cleared the critical 700-run barrier and taken total control of the game. South Zone now has the daunting job of replying to a massive first-innings score against a much fresher bowling assault.

Kishan was the obvious hero of the day, scoring 270 off 334 balls in an innings that mixed patience, authority, and continuous aggressiveness. The left-hander hit 30 fours and seven sixes, allowing East Zone to score at a solid rate despite the duration of the innings.

He became one of the few players to score 200 or more in a Duleep Trophy Final(only five others have done the same). His innings also became the 2nd highest score ever by a batsmen from the East Zone(Arun Lal still tops the list with his 287) in the Duleep Trophy.

He was helped by Kumar Kushagra who scored 101. Anukul Roy and Md. Kounain Qureshi also contributed with their 40s to this massive score.

It wasn't a very good day for the South Zone bowlers as they were run ragged by the batsmen. Tripurana Vijay turned out to be the pick of the bowlers as he took 4 wickets. Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Gopal struggled today as well.