RAIPUR: After two years away from international cricket, Ishan Kishan returned with a statement performance, smashing a destructive 76 off 32 balls to make a daunting target of 209 set by New Zealand appear routine in the second T20I on Tuesday.
Reflecting on his time out of the Indian side after being named player of the match, Kishan said he had asked himself a simple but searching question during his absence. “I asked myself one question – can I do it again or not? And I had a very clear answer.”
Kishan’s comeback has been built on a return to domestic cricket, where he adopted a bottom-up approach by featuring in tournaments such as the Buchi Babu Trophy and the DY Patil T20. He went on to lead Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title, scoring more than 500 runs in the season.
“I was just looking to score runs. Sometimes it’s important to do it for yourself, to answer your own questions about how you’re batting and whether you’re capable of playing for India. That’s why it was important for me to play domestic cricket and get runs,” he said.
“The good part was that we won the trophy as well, and I carried that confidence here. So it was a pretty good day for me,” added the ‘Pocket Dynamo’ from Patna.
Kishan said mindset was the key factor behind his ability to dominate even when India slipped to 6 for 2 early in the chase after losing Abhishek Sharma.
“I was focusing more on what I had to do today and being in a very good headspace for this game. Sometimes you understand that you’re batting well. I just needed to get runs somewhere to answer my questions. Even if I got out, I just wanted to play good cricket, that was it.”
Despite striking at nearly 240, the left-hander said his approach was controlled rather than reckless.
“We were looking not to take risks, not to go cross-batted, but I was still looking to score as many runs as possible in the powerplay. At the end of the day, when you’re chasing a 200-plus total, you have to get good runs in the powerplay.”
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said he had rarely witnessed such domination in a high-pressure situation.
“I don’t know what Ishan had for lunch in the afternoon or what pre-workout he had before the game, but I’ve never seen anyone bat at 6 for 2 in that manner and still end the powerplay around 67 or 70. I thought it was incredible,” he said.
“Chasing 200 or 210, this is what we want from batters – to go out there, express themselves, be happy in their own space. And that’s exactly what he did today.”
Suryakumar also joked that he was left frustrated during the powerplay due to Kishan’s dominance.
“I was angry he didn’t give me strike in the powerplay, but that’s okay. I had some time, played eight or 10 balls, and I knew that later on, when I had time, I could cover it up.”
The India skipper, who registered his first half-century after 23 innings, said the knock came as a relief.
“As I’ve said before, I was batting really well in the nets. Everything I did back home over the last two or three weeks helped. I got a good break to spend time with my family and friends, had good practice sessions, and I’m really enjoying what’s happening right now.”