It won’t be an exaggeration to state that Ishan Kishan has been the best Indian cricketer on display in the West Indies tour so far. The lefthanded wicketkeeper-batter made his debut in the first Test and although he got only 20 balls to bat in the entire match, he was very impressive behind the wicket. In the second Test, he scored 25 in the first innings and slammed a whirlwind unbeaten 52 in the second to help India set up a target. His real dominance, however, was reserved for the ODIs.
Kishan did not get a century but he smashed half-centuries in all the three ODIs becoming only the sixth Indian cricketer after Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharduddin, MS Dhoni and Shreyas Iyer to do so in a three-match series. Kishan returned as India’s highest run-getter in the ODI series with 184 runs.
His consistent run at the top of the order earned him the Player of the Series award but the left-hander, who played a crucial role in India’s huge 200-run win in the series-deciding third ODI at Tarouba, Trinidad, was “not happy” with his performance.
“Not so happy with the finishing that I gave. I was supposed to score big after being set. That’s what my seniors told me, I should’ve stayed in and scored big. That’s what I’ll try next time, I’ll get set in the middle and score big,” Kishan said after the match on Tuesday.
Kishan was batting on 77 off 63 balls when he charged down the track to leg-spinner Yannic Cariah, swung his bat and missed it altogether. West Indies captain Shai Hope made no mistake behind the stumps and Kishan was out stumped. The way he was batting, he looked set for a big one, just like in the previous ODI. Perhaps that is the reason why Kishan was disappointed. In a World Cup year, it is imperative that a player like him converts his starts into big ones to keep the selectors interested.
“It’s important at this level to get set. It’s important to forget the last game and start from 0. I was thinking of taking it one ball at a time,” he said.
‘Shubman Gill a tremendous player’: Ishan Kishan
Kishan hit three sixes and eight fours in his stay in the middle on Tuesday. He forged India’s highest ODI opening partnership in the West Indies with Shubman Gill. The two youngsters put on 143 bettering Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinya Rahane’s record of 132 in 201.
Gill was declared Player of the Match for his 85 off 92 balls. Kishan called his batting partner and good friend a “tremendous player”. “He’s a tremendous player, I’ve seen how he middles the ball. Seeing him hitting it out of the middle gives me a lot of confidence as well.”
India’s bowlers led by Mukesh Kumar (3/30) and Shardul Thakur (4/37) were equally good. They never allowed West Indies batters to believe that they can chase down the daunting 352-run target.
“Always important to win at this level, the learnings from these games are important. We were looking to get early wickets, and didn’t let any ball go. Everyone is looking very positive. I’ve played a few tournaments here and I know how the wickets play here, not really thinking about the next T20 world cup. Focussing on the upcoming tournaments, you know how one tournament can change your life. We’re just focussing on that now,” Kishan said.
