Ishan Kishan Trusts Himself To Hit Big Sixes Irrespective Of The Ball Being Bowled - Dinesh Karthik On What Sets The Youngster Apart From Others

Senior wicket-keeper batsman, Dinesh Karthik opines that Ishan Kishan is an immensely confident player, and despite his small physique, the left-hander backs himself to clear the boundary line.

Ishan Kishan has displayed the same in the IPL and in his domestic career hitherto; on Sunday, he unleashed himself onto the England bowlers in the second Ahmedabad T20I. Kishan was handed his debut India cap replacing Shikhar Dhawan at the top.

The southpaw made a light work of the 165-run target with his powerful striking straight from ball one. Kishan scored a boundary on his first ball, off the bowling of Jofra Archer, and never looked back as he rumbled to his maiden T20I half-century. With the help of 5 fours and 4 sixes, the 22-year-old smashed 56 runs off 32 balls to set up the series-leveling chase for India.

Dinesh Karthik, who has shared the dressing room with Ishan Kishan during their time with the now-defunct Gujarat Lions, says that the southpaw with his aggressive intent makes a perfect foil for an anchor batsman like Virat Kohli, as was proven on Sunday.

“Some brilliant shots. The way he started, the confidence, the poise. His ability to trust himself to hit those big sixes irrespective of the ball being bowled is what sets him apart. That’s what a power player is; you want somebody like that at the top of the order who can put pressure on the bowlers. I thought he put pressure from ball one on Jofra, and that’s a good sign,” Dinesh Karthik said in a chat on Sky Sports.

“The key to India winning games is Kohli, and a person like Kohli will revel batting with a person like Ishan Kishan,” he added.

Indian bowlers were very clever, they had good game plans: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik, who last played for India in the 2019 World Cup semi-final, also lavished praise on the Indian bowlers, who were able to restrict a strong English batting line-up to a par total; the pacers gave away only 35 runs in the last 5 overs.

“Just how clever they were(on being asked what stood out in India’s bowling performance). Towards the back end of the innings, they were just bowling cutters.

“I thought the fastest bowler on display was Washington,” joked Karthik. He adds, “The off-spinner seemed to bowl a lot of faster ball, and the fast bowlers seemed to bowl a lot of off cutters. They were very clever about it, they had good game plans, and the wicket helped them in abundance.”

Karthik recently led Tamil Nadu to victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With the hope to make a comeback to the national side, the wicket-keeper batsman will be in action for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2021.

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