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Ishan Kishan made a smashing comeback to first class cricket after more than a year with a majestic century, to power India C to a healthy 357/5 against India B on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy match at the Rural Development Trust Stadium, in Anantapur, on Thursday.
Batting at No 4, Kishan smashed 111, hitting 14 fours and three sixes in his 126-ball knock to rally India C from a shaky start after they lost Rajat Patidar (40) and B Sai Sudharsan (43) in quick succession, while captain Ruturaj Gaikwad retired hurt with an injury.
The innings also underlined the fitness of the 26-year-old, who was originally in India D squad, as he missed the first round of Duleep Trophy with a groin injury.
Sanju Samson was drafted in as Kishan's replacement in India D squad, necessitating the redrafting of the former into India C.
Cutting back to the match, India C's situation was compounded by skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad's return to the hut with an ankle niggle after facing just two balls.
However, any major concern over Gaikwad's fitness was allayed when he came out to bat after Kishan's dismissal, scoring an unbeaten 46 from 50 balls with seven fours and two sixes to guard the crease along with Manav Suthar unbeaten on eight.
The day belonged to Kishan, who added another solid brick to his comeback trial into red-ball cricket.
The left-hander had made a hundred in Jharkhand's opening round win over Madhya Pradesh in the recently concluded Buchi Babu Invitational tournament in Tamil Nadu.
That game in Coimbatore was his first red-ball match after the Test against the West Indies at Port of Spain in July 2023, and he carried on with his redemption act here as well.
Earlier, this year he was left out of BCCI central contracts list after he ignored the Board's diktat of playing in domestic cricket when not on national duty.
Kishan sought a break during the Indian team’s tour to South Africa citing mental fatigue after which he found himself out of favour. He was asked to play domestic cricket to prove his fitness and stake his claim for a place in the Indian team but he opted against playing for Jharkhand in Ranji Trophy, which saw him getting sidelined further.
He had Baba Indrajith (78) for the company as the pair milked 189 runs for the third wicket stand to take India C to a commanding position.
Indrajith also had a slice of fortune as the Tamil Nadu batter had edged pacer Navdeep Saini to Sarfaraz Khan at slips just before lunch, and he walked off. But Indrajith was called back to resume batting as Saini had overstepped during that delivery.
However, all this drama at the other end did not ruffle Kishan as he continued to dismantle the India B bowlers.
Kishan played late and close to his body to nip the early movement and it was evidenced in the 10 boundaries he got across square and fine leg regions.
He had to make that technical adjustment as spinners – R Sai Kishore and Rahul Chahar – bowled just 17 overs between them this day.
Occasionally, power overshadowed his general finesse on the day as well, as whenever the opportunity presented itself, the left-hander was not hesitant to flex his muscles.
He hammered Saini for two sixes in the fine leg region and once lifted Mukesh Kumar over mid-wicket for maximums.
Eventually, he was bowled by pacer Mukesh, the most successful India bowler with three wickets, but he has already placed India C in a position of strength.
After Kishan's departure, India C received a further move-on as Gaikwad came back and added some quick runs to push India B against the wall.
Brief score:
India C: 357/5 in 79 overs (Ishan Kishan 111, Baba Indrajith 78, Ruturaj Gaikwad 46 not out; Mukesh Kumar 3/76) vs India B