Ishan Kishan continued his sensational run with the bat by smashing a double century in the 2026 Duleep Trophy final, leading East Zone from the front and rewriting the record books at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday.
The East Zone captain reached the landmark on the second day of the summit clash after walking in at No. 5 on the opening day. Having won the toss and elected to bat, East Zone were well placed at 147 for three when Kishan arrived at the crease.
Ace Indian batter Ishan Kishan
The left-hander then turned the innings into a one-man masterclass, helping East Zone build towards a mammoth total approaching 600. He also forged a staggering 230-run partnership for the fifth wicket with fellow centurion Kumar Kushagra, who scored 101 off 132 deliveries.
Kishan joins elite Duleep Trophy list
Kishan’s double century made him only the second captain in the 65-year history of the Duleep Trophy to score a double hundred in the final.
The only previous captain to achieve the feat was Anshuman Gaekwad, who scored 216. Kishan has now gone past Gaekwad’s mark to register the highest score by a captain in an innings in the history of Duleep Trophy finals.
Overall, Kishan became only the seventh batter to score a double century in the competition’s summit clash.
He also joined an exclusive list of players to achieve the feat in the final of the zonal first-class tournament, following Raman Lamba, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Cheteshwar Pujara.
Kishan surpasses Dinesh Karthik
The Jharkhand batter also broke a long-standing record held by Dinesh Karthik.
Kishan’s knock is now the highest individual score by a designated wicketkeeper-batter in a Duleep Trophy final, surpassing Karthik’s 183 for South Zone against West Zone in the 2010 summit clash.
Ishan Kishan
Kishan also became the first East Zone batter to hit a double century in a Duleep Trophy final. The previous highest score by an East Zone batter in the final was Wriddhiman Saha’s 170 against Central Zone in 2012.
For the two-time champions, Kishan became only the third player after Arun Lal and Saba Karim to register the milestone at any stage of the competition, while becoming the second East Zone batter to cross the 250-run mark.
Second first-class double century
The remarkable innings marked only the second double century of Kishan’s first-class career. His previous double hundred came in 2016, when he smashed 273 for Jharkhand against Delhi at Thumba.
With his latest record-breaking effort coming on the biggest stage, Kishan has once again underlined his ability to turn dominant starts into match-defining innings.