Although Ishan Kishan did not get a chance to play in the opening matches during the ODI World Cup, he got a chance to work on his game under the guidance of an expert coach. He took rigorous batting practice in the nets and during this time visualized how to play certain bowlers in match situations. The 25-year-old Kishan saw his hard work pay off during the first T20 International against Australia on Thursday. Targeting leg-spinner Tanveer Sangha, he scored 30 off 10 balls.
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In the press conference after the match, Kishan said, ‘During the World Cup when I was not playing, I asked myself before every practice session what is important to me now. what can i do I practiced a lot on net. I was constantly talking to the coach about the game, how to take the match to the end, how to target certain bowlers.
He said, ‘Being a left-handed batsman against the leg-spinners, I was in a good position. I knew what the wicket was like because I kept the wicket for 20 overs. When you are chasing a target of 209 runs, you have to target a bowler against whom you can play big shots. I spoke to Suryabhai (Captain Suryakumar Yadav) that I will play big shots against this player (Sangha) no matter where he bowls because we want to minimize the difference between runs and balls.
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Kishan said, ‘You cannot give away too many runs to the tail batsman. It will not be easy for him to come straight and play the big shots. I had to take risks and I believed in myself.
Kishan’s 39-ball 58 and Suryakumar Yadav’s 42-ball 80 helped India chase down the target of 209 with one ball to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. On losing two wickets early while chasing the target, Kishan said, ‘We lost two wickets early and the partnership was very important. I also played in the same team with Surya bhai in the IPL so I know how he plays, what shots he can play… I think the on-field communication was very good today. We were talking to each other about which bowler we have to target, we have to keep rotating the strike.
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Overall, wicketkeeper batsman Kishan called it a ‘solid all-round performance’. He said, ‘I know things were not easy for the bowlers. Especially with the fact that most of them are playing international cricket after a long time. So credit goes to everyone. When you play against Australia it is a pressure match. Overall I think we were pretty good.
After half-centuries from Suryakumar and Kishan and a century partnership between the duo, Rinku Singh scored an unbeaten 22 off 14 balls to lead India to victory.
Kishan said, ‘You know Rinku has done very well in IPL and then domestic matches. And after coming here and playing against Australia, he showed patience in the shots he played. I think he was fantastic today.