Kolkata, Sept. 11 -- The fifth day of the Duleep Trophy final had long since ceased to resemble a contest by the time Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Shami found themselves at different crossroads of their careers. East Zone ended 760 runs ahead, the result effectively beyond doubt. Yet the game offered something more consequential than a trophy: a glimpse of two Indian cricketers using the domestic first-class stage to make the same argument - that red-ball cricket still matters to them. Having already established a first-innings lead of 372, East Zone were 388/7 when Kishan finally called time. East had won the Duleep Trophy for the first time in 13 years, on the strength of that first-innings advantage. Kishan had already scored 270 in the first innings, an innings of 334 balls and 522 minutes that demanded a patience rarely associated with his white-ball reputation. He followed it with 80 in the second, finishing with 350 runs and the Player of the Match award. His tournament was even more emphatic: 409 runs in five innings. More importantly, he extended his unbeaten run as a captain in first-class cricket to 16 matches. For Kishan, this was about what he described as a transformation. "It was more about just being more calm after the break," he said, referring to the period in which he was out of the India reckoning, at the presentation ceremony. Kishan spoke of becoming calmer, more aware and hungrier, and of wanting to ensure that teammates did not slip into the "zone" he had himself experienced. "You need to take care of each other," he said. Shami's position was different. At 36, and with a long international career behind him, he does not need the Duleep Trophy to prove anything. But his performance in the final was a reminder that red-ball cricket remains a craft he refuses to abandon. After figures of 0/140 in the first innings, he returned with greater pace and movement in the second, finishing with 1/47 on a surface that offered little. "I always try to learn," Shami said. "If you are not motivated at this level, then I don't think your approach is right." Brief scores: East Zone 708 & 388/7d (M Quraishi 116*, I Kishan 80) drew with South Zone 336....