You have to believe - Ishan Kishan reflects on match-winning knock against Pakistan

Ishan Kishan delivered an absolute masterclass when it mattered the most as Team India humbled Pakistan emphatically to make it three wins in a row in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

The Men in Blue needed something special when they lost Abhishek Sharma in the first over itself. Ishan Kishan took over the reins and started pounding away at the Pakistani bowling unit without any remorse.

Kishan won the Player of the Match award for his scintillating performance with the bat, a 40-ball 77 that comprised 10 fours and 3 sixes.

Talking at the post-match presentation, the southpaw opened up on the wicket and how he adapted to the evolving conditions. He also highlighted the initial plan and the target that India had on their minds.

Explaining his blueprint, Ishan said, “I think the wicket was not that easy in the beginning, but sometimes you just have to believe what you want to play, what shots are on, and you have to just focus on your strength. So I was just keeping it simple and watching the ball and playing with the field, maybe trying to make them run as much as they can, but yeah, I think it worked pretty well in my side.”

Shedding light on why he went heavily on the off-side, Kishan added, “I think I did work a lot on my off-side game and it will give me the balls where I want them to bowl if I play good shots on off-side. So I was just trying to hit the gaps because it's a big boundary and when it's a big ground you get bigger gaps. So I was just trying to keep it simple, like I said, trying to hit the gaps, trying to at least take two runs because wicket was not easy. I had that in mind that we need to put a total like 160-170 runs and it will be a very good total for us.”