Ishan Kishan's top 3 T20I knocks

Ishan Kishan is an exciting batsman who has been knocking on the doors of the Indian cricket team for some time. The Ranchi southpaw, who made his T20I debut for India at age 22, got off to a blistering start with an impressive record in the 14 matches he has played for India so far.

Kishan has already scored 480 runs at an average of 36.92 at a healthy 130.43 strike rate and is maturing at a steep rate. He has already scored almost 20% of all the runs that India have scored in all the matches he has played so far.

On that note, let's take a look at Ishan Kishan’s top three T20 innings in international cricket so far on the basis of his impact performances.

#3 54 (35) vs South Africa, Vishakhapatnam

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The Indian team were 0-2 down in the five-match T20I series at home against South Africa and came to Vishakhapatnam needing a win to stay alive in the series and boost confidence after two embarrassing defeats. Kishan looked in good touch with a solid 76 (48) in the Arun Jaitley Stadium just a couple of matches prior, albeit in a losing cause.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat first, openers Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kishan made merry of the South African attack by putting up a 97-run opening stand in just 60 deliveries. The latter was very comfortable playing the Protean spinners as he hit two boundaries and a six each against Tabraiz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj.

Post Gaikwad’s dismissal, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas looked to form a solid partnership before the former lost his wicket at 128/2 after 13 overs. The innings slowed down rapidly after his wicket but the hosts managed to reach 179/2 riding on Hardik Pandya’s 31(21) at the end of the innings.

The target of 180 proved to be too tough a total to chase down as the visitors collapsed to 131/10 in 19.1 overs. Harshal Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal got seven wickets between themselves to wrap up the South African innings and keep India alive in the series, which eventually ended in a 2-2 draw.

#2 89 (56) vs Sri Lanka, Lucknow

Fresh off being bought back by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the recently concluded IPL auctions for a whopping 15.25cr, Ishan Kishan was eager to show the world he was worth the amount.

The visiting Lankan team won the toss and chose to put India to bat in the first of the three-match series. This proved to be a wrong decision as the home team romped to a total of 199/2, led by the wicket-keeper's fiery 89, who was unlucky to miss out on his maiden international hundred holing out to Dasun Shanaka.

Kishan was particularly harsh on Lahiru Kumara, scoring 31 runs against the Lankan pacer alone. The southpaw also hit three boundaries in a row against Karunaratne in the third over of the innings, the first two through the covers, and the last between the short third man and backward point.

Captain Rohit Sharma’s steady 44 (32) and Shreyas Iyer’s destructive 57 (28) at the death took the total beyond Sri Lanka’s grasp as the Indian bowlers held the Lankans to 57/4 in their first ten overs, making the chase impossible from there.

Ishan Kishan won the Player of the Match for his performance, with 10 fours, three sixes, and a wide array of shots entertaining the audience throughout his innings.

#1 56 (32) vs England, Ahmedabad 2021

India won the toss and elected to field first, with Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan making their debuts. The home team looked clueless with the bat in the first game and had the intention of making a comeback to equalise the series in the second outing.

A sluggish deck and a disciplined bowling performance from the Indian pacers restricted the English total to 164/6 after 20 overs, with the visitors only scoring 35 runs in the last five overs.

Opening the batting, the debutant played with a balance of aggression and maturity to take India to 94/2 in just 10 overs before he was dismissed by Adil Rashid.

Ishan got off the mark with a four on his very first ball with a flick off the pads from an Archer delivery. The southpaw continued to play his brand of fearless cricket, attacking the Curran brothers and Adil Rashid with intent and smacking the latter for two consecutive sixes to bring up his fifty on debut in just 28 balls.

Ishan Kishan’s blitzkrieg innings, well balanced with skipper Virat Kohli’s 73 off 49 balls and Rishabh Pant’s quickfire 26 off 13 ensured India reached the target with no hiccups. He won the Player of the Match award on debut for his performance.