It's about being smart – Ishan Kishan on his sensational innings

Ishan Kishan rocked an incredible 81 off just 44 balls in India’s dominant win against Zimbabwe in the second T20I of the series in Harare.

Kishan had to navigate the tricky waters when India lost two wickets in quick succession. The southpaw didn’t back down and came up out charging on all cylinders.

He was also a part of two important partnerships, one of 66 runs with Shreyas Iyer and the other of 94 runs with Tilak Varma, paving India’s way to the staggering total of 219 they posted at the end of their 20 overs.

Ishan Kishan secured the Player of the Match award for his sensational batting.

Talking at the post-match presentation, Ishan Kishan opened up on his very special innings. He highlighted the little manipulation to his techniques from the first T20I that saw him scoring big in the second clash of the series.

He concluded with a word of praise about his own teammates who stuck together to snatch the win.

Reflecting on his special knock, Ishan Kishan said, “Obviously, when you score runs for your team and help them post a good total and finish on the winning side, it's always a great feeling to be in that situation. But, yeah, I'm really happy with the overall team performance. I think we did very well today.”

Highlighting the little tweaks to his batting approach, Kishan added, “To be very honest, I didn't feel this was the kind of wicket where you could just walk in and score 200-plus runs. We felt anything around 180 would be a good total because there was variable bounce on a few deliveries. So we knew partnerships were going to be very important. But as a number three batter, once you're set, you want to make it count and score big runs so that your team gets to a total like the 220 odd we managed today.”

Shedding light on the mindset of batting after India lost two quick wickets, Ishan stated, “You don't think about the wickets that have already fallen. The past is past. You just keep watching the ball. You know your strengths, you know where you can score and which bowlers you can target. It's about being smart in the middle. I kept things very simple and just backed myself to play my shots all around the ground.”

He concluded with unreserved praise for the Indian fast bowling unit, adding, “I'm really happy to see them doing well, especially Mayank Yadav, Yash and everyone else. Prince has played a few matches as well. All of them bring great energy to the field. It's not just about how they're bowling. They've all worked incredibly hard and each of them has a great story behind their success. At the same time, they've contributed brilliantly in the field as well. It's really good to have them around, and the way they're bowling, I think they're going to make a big name for themselves.”