Harare: At one time, it seemed that India’s score could cross 250. The Indian batsmen were then ruling Zimbabwe’s bowling at the Harare Sports Club. However, after crushing Zimbabwe and securing the T20 series win with one match left, man of the match Ishan Kishan said, they saved the greed of 250 score. Rather the emphasis was on building partnerships. Which laid the foundation for a huge victory against Zimbabwe by 90 runs.
When Ishan took to the crease, India scored 29/2 in 3 overs. There is a lot of pressure on Team India. From there, Ishan played a devastating innings of 81 runs from 44 balls and turned the match around. He built a partnership of 66 runs with captain Shreyas Iyer. Then Tilak Verma’s unbeaten 60 off 29 balls took India to the mountain of runs. Batting first, India made 219/5. In response, Zimbabwe were bowled out for just 129 runs in 17.5 overs. India took a 2-0 lead to secure the series win. The last match is now just regulation.
After the man of the match, Ishan said, ‘Whoever bats at number three, his job is to see the ball and play his normal game. Wicket also needs to be understood. A lot of thinking goes on, should I pick 250, or should I pick 230, or is the wicket 170-180 runs. Shreyas Iyer After coming to the crease, thinking about them was also going on. We wanted to build this partnership to build long innings. We batted well and executed that plan.’
Ishan does not want to listen to outside talk about how to bat. Said, ‘I don’t want to think about what is happening outside. I know how to play. It is very important to live in that moment. Without thinking about what is happening in the outside world. Without thinking about who is scoring more runs, who is hitting more. Everyone can be in the market. But if you go down to bat at number three and if two wickets fall, then it is important to understand which is more important. Take the risk or build a partnership? Is hitting the ball easy? You should play after understanding the wicket.’
Ishan has also accepted the challenge of India’s continuous cricket schedule. A pair of T20s against Ireland. Then 5 match T20 series against England, 3 match ODI series. Then visit Zimbabwe. India will enter the third T20 match on Sunday. Match two days in a row. Ishaan says, ‘Very difficult. I played so many matches in England. It started in Ireland. Then all of a sudden he came on tour to Zimbabwe and played. And two matches on 2 consecutive days.’
