We didn't want to put too much pressure on the later batters - Ishan Kishan

India scripted a remarkable victory against Australia at Visakhapatnam in the T20I series opener as they chased down a mammoth 209 in a last-ball thriller. Suryakumar Yadav (80) and Ishan Kishan (58) notched up half centuries for the Men in Blue before Rinku Singh provided a late flourish to see India home.

Before SKY set on his onslaught, Kishan seemed to be the man in charge who also sacrificed his natural game to accompany the Indian captain in building a crucial partnership. However, the slow start from Kishan was soon to be replaced by an absolute tempest that saw India firing on all cylinders.

Talking at the post-match presentation, Ishan Kishan opened up at length about India’s approach, highlighting the all-round showdown that propelled the new-look Team India to a glorious start in the five-match series.

Crediting Mukesh Kumar and Rinku Singh, Kishan said, “I think bowlers did a great job, we were put under pressure, but credit to Mukesh for the way he bowled, the wicket wasn't easy to bowl on, but to go at less then 9 RPO was outstanding, Rinku as well, playing at the early stage of his career and playing that kind of innings, it was special.”

He further added, “We didn't want to put too much pressure on the later batters, credit to Surya bhai, he planned his innings superbly, he can always play the big shots whenever needed. The plan was to get quick runs (on the partnership), so even if I got out, we needed the runs on the board. The ball I got out, he wanted me to look for a single, but the gap between runs required and balls left was big and I had to go for my shots.”

Kishan concluded by saying, “It's a young side, most of them have not played against big teams like this, we'll make mistakes, we'll talk about it during the team meetings and come back better with the ball in the next match.”