India, Sept. 7 -- Ishan Kishan's marathon effort in the Duleep Trophy final did not end with a conventional dismissal. After batting through the Chennai heat and taking his score to a remarkable 250, the East Zone captain eventually walked off retired hurt, bringing an end to an innings that had increasingly become as much a test of his body as his batting.

The applause around the ground told its own story. Kishan had converted the hundred he began the second day with into a double century and then kept going, refusing to allow fatigue to cut short his stay. By the time he left the field, he had provided a striking example of what it takes to turn a start into a truly enormous first-class innings.

And watching it all was another batter ...