Chennai, Sept. 9 -- Ishan Kishan and South Zone skipper Tilak Varma underlined their red ball chops with 80 and 99 respectively, but former's half-century has more contextual value as it placed East Zone firmly on course for a Duleep Trophy triumph on the fourth day of the final here on Wednesday.
Tilak's 211-ball knock lifted South to 336 all out in their first innings but still remained 372 runs adrift of East's first dig total of 708.
In their second innings, East moved to 212 for five at close, for an overall lead of 584 runs. Kumar Kushagra (34) and Kounain Quraishi (26) were batting at close and have raised 52 runs for the unbroken sixth wicket.
But those team numbers now carry a mere academic significance as East already have their hands around this season's Duleep Trophy, courtesy that irreversibly massive first-innings lead.
However, with a couple of important Test assignments coming up - away against New Zealand and subsequently at home against Australia - the selectors now have two solid options to mull over in front of them.
Kishan, who made an expansive 270 in the first innings here, was comfortable from ball one in the ensuing essay as well during his 98-ball knock.
The left-hander started his run-making with a six off off-spinner Tripurana Vijay over mid-wicket and never really took his feet off the pedal.
Kishan went after Vijay again towards the backend of his innings, hammering him for 4, 6, 6, 4 in successive balls in the 26th over.
Moments before that DRS saved Kishan, who added 146 runs for the third wicket with Shikhar Mohan, from a leg-before decision after on-field umpire Rohan Pandit upheld leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal's appeal.
But the 20-minute break seemed to have affected Kishan's rhythm as he soon got out, lofting pacer MD Nidheesh to Devdutt Padikkal inside the leg-side circle.
The motley Chepauk crowd hence could not see another Kishan hundred and they also had to endure the
disappointment of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's early dismissal.
After DRS saved him from Vijay's leg before appeal on 6, Sooryavanshi could not build something bigger, getting stumped off the same bowler by Narayan Jagadeesan.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.