India, Sept. 7 -- There are innings that announce themselves, and then there are innings that quietly alter the conversation around a player. Ishan Kishan's 270-second highest score in a Duleep Trophy final-for East Zone against South Zone at Chepauk on Monday belonged to the latter category.

On a hot, humid Chennai afternoon, with the pitch neither offering extravagant movement nor easy pace on Day 2 of the five-day match, Kishan did something that has increasingly become unfashionable in the age of instant cricket-he stayed, and then stayed some more. Till he had carved out an innings to remember, with partner Kumar Kushagra helping himself to a hundred as well.

By the time he reached 250, Kishan had faced 300 balls, his innings conta...