Indian batter Ishan Kishan played a stunning knock in the first T20I against Sri Lanka to help the Indian side ensure a memorable victory by 62 runs at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. Riding on the performance of Kishan and Shreyas Iyer, the Indian side defeated Sri Lanka to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing series.
Ishan gave a brilliant start to the Indian side as together they added 58 runs in the powerplay. Both the players gave continued firing before Kumara removed Rohit in the 12th over as India reached 111/1.
Iyer was promoted to the No.3 position in the absence of Virat Kohli and he formed a formidable partnership with Ishan until Shanaka dismissed him in the 17th over. He was adjudged the Player of the Match award for his blockbuster knock of 89 runs off 56 balls, hitting 10 fours and 3 sixes.
Later, during the post-match presentation, he spoke about his performance in the game and said:
“I got to learn a lot from the West Indies series. My intent wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t positive enough. Pull is my favourite shot, I enjoy playing that shot. It’s a positive thing for the batting unit as well because you need to hit gaps and the grounds are big in Australia. I was talking to Shreyas about the mid-wicket region. He said if you middle the ball you could get a boundary. If you hit the gaps you can get two. And it went my way.”
Ishan Kishan also revealed how Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Rahul Dravid have always motivated his talent. He said:
“Virat Bhai, Rohit Bhai, Dravid sir told me that they know about my talent and they are not doubting me. These things make a youngster happy”.
