Ishan Kishan gets highest-score by India wicketkeeper, even MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant couldn’t achieve this

India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan said he had learnt a lot from the T20I series against the West Indies.

In the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Thursday (February 24), Kishan hit an explosive 89 off 57 balls, laced with ten fours and three sixes, to set the base for India’s convincing 62-run win over Sri Lanka.

Kishan’s knock was the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in T20 cricket, surpassing Rishabh Pant’s 65 not out against West Indies in 2019.

Surprisingly after all his batting exploits, former India captain MS Dhoni has a top-score of 56 in T20 cricket, which he scored against England at Bengaluru in 2017.

With ten fours in his knock of 89 runs, Ishan also struck most fours by an Indian wicketkeeper in a T20I inning. Robin Uthappa had hit nine fours against Zimbabwe in 2015.

It was a far cry from Kishan against the West Indies, who struggled to get going and made just 71 runs in three innings. “I got to learn a lot from the West Indies series.

My intent wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t positive enough. I was just trying to keep it simple here – watch the ball and play my shots,” said Kishan, adjudged ‘Player of the Match’ in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Asked about his memorable shot from the scintillating knock, Kishan replied, “Pull is my favourite shot, I enjoy playing that shot.”

Kishan was happy with matches happening in bigger stadiums at home in the run-up to the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia later in the year.

“It’s a positive thing for the batting unit as well because you need to hit gaps preparing for the World Cup in Australia. Bigger boundaries are a good thing as we get lots of gaps.

“I was talking to Shreyas (Iyer) about the mid-wicket region. He said if you middle the ball you could get a boundary. If you hit the gaps you can get two. And it went my way.”

India captain Rohit Sharma was extremely pleased to witness left-handed opener Kishan’s scintillating 89 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Thursday. He added that he was happy with the way Kishan went about building his innings.

“I know Ishan for a long time now. I know the mindset he has. I know the ability he has as well. It was just about getting the kind of game that he had today. It was so pleasing to watch from the other end.

The way he constructed the innings was so good, that is usually his problem. It was not about coming and hitting the ball, it was also about finding the gaps,” said Sharma in the post-match presentation ceremony.