Did Not Realise I Had Reached My Fifty; Virat Kohli Told Me To Raise My Bat To Each Part Of Crowd - Ishan Kishan

On Sunday during the second match of the ongoing 5-match T20I series against England in Ahmedabad, Ishan Kishan, via a straight six off the bowling of Adil Rashid in the 10th over, notched up his maiden T20I fifty – he is only the second Indian Men’s player, after Ajinkya Rahane, to record a half-century on his T20I debut.

Ishan Kishan smacked 5 fours and 4 sixes in his 32-ball 56 runs knock helping India level the series and also bagged the Man of the Match award.

However, the left-hander didn’t realize that he had reached the milestone; it was only after skipper Virat Kohli, who was batting alongside him, told him about it. Kishan said that he does not usually raise his bat after a half-century, and barely does it even after reaching three figures.

Again, it Kohli who told the 22-year-old to not just raise his bat, but show it to all the parts of the crowd – a 60,000 plus crowd assembled at the Narendra Modi Stadium – as it was his maiden fifty, that too on debut.

“No, I wasn’t nervous to be honest. To be honest, I did not realise that I had reached my fifty. Then Virat Bhai said ‘top innings’ then I understood that I’d completed my half-century. Usually, I’m not inclined towards raising my bat after a fifty, I barely raise my bat for celebration after half a ton,” Ishan Kishan said on Chahal TV.

“But then suddenly I hear Virat Bhai say ‘oye chaaro taraf ghum ke bat dikha [raise your bat facing each part of the crowd]’. That’s what I moved around facing each part of the stadium while raising my bat,” the left-hander revealed.

Ishan Kishan overshadowed Virat Kohli in their 94-run partnership

In a run chase of 165 runs on a sluggish track, India got off to the worst possible start, losing KL Rahul for a duck. Virat Kohli, who himself had recorded two ducks in his previous two innings, joined Ishan Kishan, the debutant replacing Shikhar Dhawan.

Unfazed by the situation, the southpaw launched an attack on the English bowlers to blaze his way to a fifty. He shared a partnership of 94 runs from 54 balls with Kohli. The youngster even over-shadowed the Indian skipper – something which seldom happens, especially in a run chase. Of the 94 runs between them, Kishan scored 56 and Kohli made 35.

After Ishan Kishan’s dismissal, Rishabh Pant continued the momentum with a 26-run cameo of his own. Kohli also notched up his half-century finishing the game with a maximum, en route became the first batsman to 3000 T20I runs.

Also Read: You Just Used To The Atmosphere – Yuvraj Singh Credits IPL After Ishan Kishan’s ‘Dream Debut’ Against England