Chennai, September 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India batter and East Zone captain Ishan Kishan said pressure in high-stakes matches brings out the best in his game as he reflected on his monumental 270 in the Duleep Trophy final against South Zone at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
Kishan produced one of the finest innings in Duleep Trophy history, smashing 270 off 334 balls with 30 fours and seven sixes to power East Zone to a mammoth 708 in their first innings. His score is the eighth-highest individual effort in the history of the competition.
Speaking in a BCCI video ahead of Day 3, Kishan said he enjoys situations where the pressure is high and wickets have fallen early.
“I think when it’s a big match, there’s a kind of pressure. And I feel that in that pressure, my best game comes,” Kishan said, explaining that the combination of nervousness, aggression and composure works in his favour.
The left-hander said he focused on team targets rather than personal milestones during his marathon innings. He broke the larger target into smaller goals, moving from 400 to 450 and then from 450 to 500.
“Rather than thinking about your own batting, you have your team goal. What will benefit the team? So when you move forward according to that, your batting becomes very good,” he said.
Kishan also spoke about the demanding conditions at Chepauk, where the large boundaries and softening ball made stroke-making physically challenging.
“It’s very difficult. You have to put in a lot of effort to hit shots. The boundary on one side was very big. The ball was getting soft in between,” he said.
He revealed that he adopted a lower batting stance when facing Mohammad Siraj, particularly as the pacer bowled short deliveries.
“When Siraj was putting in, I was batting more bent down. It wasn’t to tackle the bouncer. But it was to avoid throwing the wicket,” Kishan explained.
Kishan initially built a major partnership with Kumar Kushagra, who scored 101 off 132 balls, before continuing to dominate a tiring South Zone attack after Kushagra’s dismissal.
He reached his double century off 270 balls and accelerated beyond 250 before briefly retiring due to fatigue. He returned after Mohammed Shami’s quickfire 28 and attempted to push towards a triple century, but was eventually caught near long-on for 270, falling 30 runs short of the landmark.
Looking back on his innings, Kishan said confidence came from the quality of his shot selection and his ability to pick the right deliveries.
“The shots weren’t like I was taking a lot of chances. I was doing a good ball pick. So all these things give you a little confidence,” he said.
East Zone’s huge first-innings total has placed them in a commanding position in the final, leaving South Zone with a daunting task against Kishan’s side.
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