Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra lavished praise on Ishan Kishan’s performances in the T20 World Cup. Kishan scored a crucial knock of 54 runs off just 24 balls in the final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Sunday.
The left-hander also scored a match-winning knock of 77 runs in the high-octane clash against Pakistan. Overall, Kishan scored 317 runs in nine matches of the tournament at an average of 35.22 and a blistering strike rate of 193.29.
Chopra praised Kishan for grabbing his opportunity with both hands after proving his mettle in the domestic circuit.
“Each of the top three scored a fifty in a T20 World Cup innings for the first time. In fact, we had a fifty-plus opening partnership for the first time since the 2021 T20 World Cup. We just sealed the deal in the powerplay – 92 runs. The game was done and dusted, but before I go to Abhishek Sharma, I am going to talk about Ishan Kishan because he was also not a part of the scheme of things,” Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“He came suddenly, and in the big pressure games in this World Cup, firstly, he scored 77 against Pakistan, and then, for no rhyme or reason, it wasn’t his mistake, but he was moved to No. 3 and asked to remove the keeping gloves. The way he batted in the final, it was great that no one was out on 92, but, after that, if we had to reach 250, how would it have been possible without you scoring the runs and batting the way you did?” he added.
The renowned commentator praised Kishan for taking the attack against left-arm spinners.
“Ishan Kishan was absolutely stellar. He was hitting sixes one after the other. He just plays the flick and the ball goes into the stands. He hit Lockie Ferguson for a straight six, and I was like, Wow. He doesn’t allow the left-arm spinners to bowl at all. As soon as the ball is within the three stumps, he hits it into the stands,” he said.
Kishan was also brilliant in the field in the final clash against New Zealand, including a diving catch of Rachin Ravindra.
“Catches, appreciate a little as he is a keeper. He usually has gloves in his hands. The running catch he took of Rachin Ravindra, and then the running catch he took off Varun Chakaravarthy’s bowling, and then another catch of Daryl Mitchell, well done. We are the team that drops a lot of catches, but India peaked with their catching at the right time,” Chopra observed.
Kishan will look to continue his rich form in the IPL.
