Ishan Kishan Scores Maiden T20I Century

“I thought he grabbed the opportunity really well. As you said, when you bat at six or seven, you’re probably getting three or four overs with a strong Indian batting line-up. But this time India lost early wickets, and he had to come in sooner. He showed intent from the very first ball — that first-ball six was one of the longest you’ll see, right into the second tier. When you strike a shot like that early, your confidence soars. He knows that if he connects, the ball is going into the stands because he’s got that power, the swing, and the timing. It ended up being the third-fastest fifty for India, which is remarkable — you’re talking about Yuvraj Singh, Abhishek Sharma, and now Shivam Dube.”

“The fact that he can also bowl a couple of overs makes him such a valuable player. And having come in earlier, he won’t see himself only as a finisher anymore. He’ll believe he can build an innings and finish it too, especially in pressure situations.”

“We purposely played six batters. Wanted to have five bowlers and challenge ourselves. We wanted to play the players who were part of the World Cup squad, otherwise we would have played other players. We have been batting well batting first. Wanted us to see how we bat when two or three down while chasing 180-200. With heavy dew, one or two partnerships like Dube batted, one partnership could have made a difference.”