"Ahead of the world-record 200" - Ishan Kishan's childhood coach says 82 vs Pakistan 'one of his best'

Uttam Mazumdar, Ishan Kishan's childhood coach, has labeled the keeper-batter's 82 (81) in the washed-out Asia Cup 2023 match against Pakistan on Saturday better than his record-breaking 210 against Bangladesh in Chattogram at the end of 2022.

Kishan, playing for the first time at number five in ODIs, came to bat when India was struggling at 48/3. He absorbed the pressure of Naseem Shah's seam movement and Haris Rauf's extra pace before scoring freely against spinners Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz to lift the score to 204/5 when he got out.

"This is Ishan's one of the best innings," Mazumdar told Sportskeeda in an exclusive chat. "It'll go ahead of the world-record 200 because this was against Pakistan, one of the best pace attacks in the world... also the pressure situation and [the fact that] he hadn't played at number five position."

"He has always played as an opener but he got the chance and proved himself before the World Cup in such a crucial match against Pakistan... I am a little bit disappointed that he didn't get his 100 but I am so optimistic by the maturity he showed," he added.

Mazumdar remains in close contact with Ishan who started coaching under him as a five-year-old. However, he didn't want to disturb him before the big match so just dropped a text without knowing that India might play him at three-down.

"I told him, 'Wherever you bat, you have to show your character and temperament should be there. If you are getting a chance for India, if you are opening or playing in the middle-order, you have to show character and make good runs.' He proved himself," Mazumdar said.

Although Kishan made it look easy, the lowest he had batted so far in ODIs was number four, where in six innings he scored just 106 runs at 21.20. He had batted top of the order in all three recent ODIs against West Indies too, even if it meant dropping Rohit Sharma down the order.

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Batting at No. 5 required a completely different mentality to opening, says Ishan Kishan's coach Uttam Mazumdar

Uttam Mazumdar also thinks that the sudden shift wouldn't have been simple for the 25-year-old.

"There's a lot of difference. While opening the ball comes so nicely and you can play freely because he's a natural in playing shots. But once he comes in the middle order, then he has to restrict a lot of shots. He has to score runs as well as keep his wicket intact. That requires a completely different mentality," he stated.

Mazumdar concluded by saying that although it's the team management's call, Kishan can score even more runs if he's promoted further in the batting order.

For now, though, his 138-run partnership with Hardik Pandya, who also scored 87 (90). Although both got out in quick succession and India only reached 266 in the first innings, the middle order stepping up after a top-order failure would have been a breath of fresh air for Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid.

Now the tricky decision for them would be to accommodate KL Rahul. Dravid had hinted that the Karnataka man would be back in the playing XI once he has recovered after the first two games of the Asia Cup.

Now the coach might be tempted to stick with Kishan, especially because he's a left-hander in a right-hander-heavy team.