Ishan Kishan, who has made a fantastic return to international cricket, feels that batting with Abhishek Sharma has made it clear to him that in the shortest format of the game, purpose should be crucial.
“Batting alongside Abhishek Sharma really helps. You see his intent, you understand the momentum the team needs, and then you just try to watch the ball and play accordingly. That approach worked well for me today,” PTI quoted Player of the Match Ishan as saying.
Ishan scored a scorching maiden hundred in the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, following his 76 in the second Twenty20 International. His final 50 runs came off of just 14 deliveries, and he reached his century in 42 balls.
“I think that’s the mindset of everyone in our team now. Even if you’re close to a milestone, it doesn’t really matter.
“If you start taking singles at that stage, you might feel later that you missed an opportunity to go big. So if the ball is there to hit, you have to go for it. The focus is on winning matches, not personal milestones,” Kishan outlined the team’s philosophy.
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner was adamant that there were several advantages before the T20 World Cup, despite the team’s 1-4 loss.
“I think when you’re challenged throughout a series, that’s always a good thing. You put both your bowlers and batters under pressure, and you can only learn from that. From that point of view, it’s been a really good series for us,” Santner said.
“Obviously, the results haven’t gone our way, but there are learnings from every single game. As a bowling unit, we’ve got to find ways against very good batters – guys who deal in boundaries and sixes,” Santner added.
