Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has lavished praise on Ishan Kishan after India registered a convincing 61-run win against Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday. Kishan scored a majestic knock of 77 runs off just 40 balls with the help of 10 fours and three sixes.

The left-hander was able to hit the ground running and catapulted his attack on the Pakistan bowlers from the get-go. It was a slow wicket at Colombo and the pitch had all the assistance for the spinners but Kishan batted at the top of his game to help India post an above-par score of 175 runs on the board.

“He’s batting like a dream at the moment. Striking on that track (Colombo pitch) at close to 200 is unreal. Every batter didn’t find it easy, whether it was Indian or Pakistani, because the ball was stopping and for him to strike the way he did, and what I liked was how quickly he assessed the conditions,” Ravi Shastri told the ICC.

On the other hand, Abhishek Sharma was once again dismissed for a duck in the first over of the innings. This was Sharma’s second blob of the tournament and Shastri urged the left-hander to give himself a bit more time in the middle.

“I think he’s due, but he just has to give himself a little bit of time. Such things happen and you can go off the boil, but he’s just got to give himself a little more time until he gets back on track. Because for him to convert those dot balls later on into boundaries and sixes, is not difficult,” Ravi Shastri said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan was bowled out for 114 as no batter, barring Usman Khan, could show any resistance. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Varun Chakravarthy all bagged two wickets apiece.

India will next take on the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.