Ishan Kishan flexes his muscles with a quick-fire half-century in Duleep Trophy

After lighting up the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, Ishan Kishan has continued his good domestic red ball form in the Duleep Trophy 2024. Batting for India C, the left-handed batter scored his half-century at more than a run a ball against India B and is yet again looking supreme to make it big on a good batting track. 

Kishan came in to bat after the fall of Rajat Patidar (40) as the first wicket of the day. Earlier, India C skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad retired hurt after reportedly twisting his ankle in the first over of the innings. Kishan joined hands with Baba Indrajith and is currently in an unbroken 96-run partnership with the Tamil Nadu batter. He's currently batting on 65* in 64 deliveries with the help of 10 fours and a six. 

Kishan hadn’t played any official cricket apart from the Indian Premier League (IPL) since India’s tour of South Africa in 2023, except for the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Tamil Nadu just prior to the Duleep Trophy 2024. 

He had a superb first round of the tournament there, as he hit a fantastic century against Madhya Pradesh (MP). Leading the Jharkhand side, scored 114 off just 107 balls to take his team past MP’s first innings total of 225. 

However, it was his knock of 41 in the second innings that proved crucial. Chasing 175 to win, Jharkhand kept losing wickets, but it was their 26-year-old captain who stayed at the crease till the end to see his team through. 

However, after a stellar first-round display at the Buchi Babu Invitational tournament, Kishan’s form fell off a cliff in the second round. Against Hyderabad, a team that previously was playing plate group in the Ranji Trophy, the left-hander was dismissed for two single-figure scores. What makes it worse is that the southpaw was dismissed twice by the left-arm spinner Tanay Thyagarajan.

However, this run-a-ball half-century after missing out on the first round of the Duleep Trophy showed that he’s back in form and is looking to score big to make a comeback in the Indian team. The keeper batter averages 69.25 in first-class cricket and already has six centuries and 17 half-centuries. 

Unfortunately for Kishan fans, there is no telecast of live streaming of the game between India C and B as it is being played at the ‘B’ ground of the Rural Development Trust in Anantapur, Andra Pradesh. 

India C had earlier begun their campaign on a winning note, defeating India D by four wickets in the first round of the Duleep Trophy 2024. 

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