“I was just trying to keep it simple” – Ishan Kishan on his knock in 1st T20I vs Sri Lanka

India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan put his poor recent form behind him to play a match-winning 89 in the first T20 International (T20I) against Sri Lanka in Lucknow on Thursday.

Kishan hit 89 off 56 deliveries, helping India post a mammoth score of 199-2 in their allotted 20 overs after being put in to bat first. The hosts then restricted Sri Lanka to 137-6 to go 1-0 up in their three-match series.

The 23-year-old Kishan was named the Player of the Match for his stupendous innings – the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in T20Is.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Kishan said that he wasn’t positive enough during his lean patch against the West Indies. However, he kept things simple against Sri Lanka, which reaped rich dividends.

“I got to learn a lot from the West Indies series. My intent wasn’t good enough; I wasn’t positive enough. I was just trying to keep it simple here – watch the ball, and play my shots,” he said.

Kishan used the pull shot rather frequently, as the Sri Lankan bowlers fed him plenty of short stuff.

“Pull is my favourite shot. Was waiting for the ball to come. They love to bowl short balls. I was waiting for that,” Kishan said.

Batting on a big ground positive ahead of T20 World Cup in Australia – Ishan Kishan

The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow is a big ground, and India ran a lot of twos on the night.

Ishan Kishan said that it was good preparation for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. There, the grounds are big, so the team would need to practice for that. Ishan Kishan said about the same:

“It’s a positive thing for the batting unit as well because you need to hit gaps, preparing for the World Cup in Australia. I was talking to Shreyas (Iyer) about the mid-wicket region. He said if you middle the ball you could get a boundary. If you hit the gaps, you can get two. And it went my way,” he said.

24th February – A day to remember for Ishan Kishan

2013 – Highest Individual Score by a designated Indian wicket-keeper in Tests by MS Dhoni.

2022 – Highest Individual Score by a designated Indian wicket-keeper in T20Is by Ishan Kishan.

#India #SriLanka #INDvSL

24th February – A day to remember for Ishan Kishan ???? 2013 – Highest Individual Score by a designated Indian wicket-keeper in Tests by MS Dhoni.2022 – Highest Individual Score by a designated Indian wicket-keeper in T20Is by Ishan Kishan.#India #SriLanka #INDvSL https://t.co/z93U2ZMn0s

The left-hander’s stunning knock helped India up a big total, helped by Rohit Sharma dropping anchor to hit 44 off 32. Shreyas Iyer then helped finish things off with a stunning knock of 57 off just 28 deliveries.

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Venkatesh Iyer claimed two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka failed to get going, eventually falling 62 runs short..The two teams will now reconvene in Dharamshala on Saturday for the next two games of the series.