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
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.
