Sunrisers Hyderabad batter Ishan Kishan said he received a lot of confidence from captain Pat Cummins and head coach Daniel Vettori after they clinched a comprehensive 44-run win against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Sunday. 

Kishan scored a majestic knock of 106 runs off just 47 balls as he batted at the top of his game. The left-hander, who was not given a central BCCI contract in 2024, smashed 11 fours and six maximums in his blistering knock. 

Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping SRH post 286 runs on the board, which is now the second-highest total in IPL history.

Kishan added 85 runs with Travis Head and then added 72 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy as he played with all the freedom.

The southpaw said after he was awarded Player of the Match, “To be very honest, the nervousness was there. I won’t deny that. But looking at the squad and looking at the team, especially Pat and the coach, they gave a lot of confidence before the game. The environment is so calm and composed, you know you just have to go in and believe in yourself like what’s supposed to be done at that point of time. I just enjoyed my time in the middle.”

Speaking on his preparation for the season, Kishan said, “I got a lot of time in between, I was practising very hard, worked on my batting also. Overall, the preparation was very good. I am feeling confident. You can see Abhishek Sharma and Head going in and playing that sort of a game. Ultimately, you are No. 3 and you get the confidence. Just go in there and you get enough time to take a few balls because Head is not going to stop, Abhishek is never going to stop.”

Kishan has been under the pump in the recent past after he was not retained in the BCCI central contract list. This knock will definitely add a shot to his arm and he would want to carry the good form.

Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on Lucknow Super Giants at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Thursday.