After spending nearly two years away from international cricket, Ishan Kishan asked himself one pressing question: Can I represent India again? He answered emphatically with the bat against New Zealand in the second T20I in Raipur.
Chasing a formidable target of 209 runs, Kishan played a blistering knock of 76 runs off just 32 balls, making the match one-sided. Although this was only his second international innings post-comeback, the impact was ineffable for this cricketer from Jharkhand.
On being named Player of the Match, Kishan remarked, 'I asked myself, can I don the Indian jersey again and perform? My answer was clear and resounding.'
After being dropped from Team India, Kishan embraced a bottom-up approach. He participated in domestic tournaments like the Buchi Babu Trophy and DY Patil Tournament before playing a pivotal role in Jharkhand's maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy triumph, amassing over 500 runs throughout the season.
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Kishan stated, 'I just needed to score runs. It was crucial to answer myself on my batting status. Domestic cricket mattered immensely to me.'
With India off to a shaky start at 6/2, Kishan maintained aggression under pressure, focusing solely on mindset. 'I only wanted to play good cricket today, even if I got out,' he mentioned.
Even at a strike rate of almost 240, Kishan revealed he didn't take unnecessary risks. He explained, 'When chasing over 200, making runs in the powerplay is essential, but we didn’t want to take undue risks.'
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Captain Suryakumar Yadav was equally impressed by Kishan’s innings. He commented, 'I’ve never seen batting like that at 6/2, bringing us to 67-70 runs in the powerplay was unbelievable.' Surya humorously noted he was upset not getting the strike in the powerplay but knew he would make it up later.
After 23 innings, Suryakumar hit his first half-century, acknowledging the break and hard work in the nets as beneficial.
