Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar said Ishan Kishan has the team’s backing, which is helping him reap the rewards for his good form in T20Is. Kishan scored a blistering knock of 77 runs off just 40 balls against arch-rivals Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo on Sunday.
Thus, Kishan played a key role in helping India post an above-par score of 175 runs on the board. Kishan smashed 10 fours and three sixes in his match-winning knock and was awarded Player of the Match.
“To bat like Ishan Kishan, the way he did against Pakistan, I believe there have to be a couple of factors that have to be your advantage. Number one, he is batting at the top of the order. He has the backing of the team to go out and play by taking a lot of risks, which, at the moment, are coming off,” Sanjay Bangar said on Star Sports.
The former Indian all-rounder said Kishan is making the most of his purple patch.
“Number two, he is the man in form, and T20 cricket is basically for form players. So he is maximizing whatever form that he has. There is a method in which he dominated. It isn’t that he was targeting each and every bowler,” Bangar observed.
Bangar said Kishan played with guile as he targeted fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and leg-spinner Shadab Khan.
“Even till the fourth over, he first attacked Shaheen Shah Afridi in the second over, then gave respect to the off-spinners, and when the leg-spinners came, he took them to the cleaners. So all in all, a very calculative innings. I must say that even though he was getting the majority of the strike, he was farming the strike pretty well and made those 77 possible out of the 88 runs that were there on the scoreboard,” he elaborated.
On the other hand, Bangar praised Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy as he has been getting the best out of his players. SKY started with Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah against Pakistan, who collectively bagged three wickets in the first two overs to put India in front.
“As much credit is due to the Indian fast bowlers, I would like to compliment Suryakumar Yadav. Despite Pakistan using 18 overs of spin, he resisted that urge to start with spin and gave the fast bowlers the first chance to bowl at the Pakistani batters,” he said.
India will next take on the Netherlands at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Wednesday.
