Ishan Kishan smashes maiden Test fifty with “RP17” bat

Team India’s wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan scored his maiden Test fifty on Day 4 of the second Test against West Indies in Trinidad on Sunday. Interestingly, he batted with a willow that had “RP17” written on it - the initials of Rishabh Pant and his jersey number.

India dominated Day 4 of the rain-hit Test and were in a commanding position by stumps. After bowling out West Indies 255 in their first innings, the visitors declared their second innings on 181/2 after 24 overs. Openers Rohit Sharma (57 off 44) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (38 off 30) added 98 for the first wicket in 11.5 overs.

After the openers were dismissed in their endeavor to search for quick runs, Kishan was promoted to No. 4, ahead of Virat Kohli. The left-handed batter made the opportunity count, hammering 52* off 34 balls, a whirlwind knock that featured four fours and two sixes.

During the course of his innings, a number of fans spotted “RP17” written on Kishan’s bat. While some claimed that the 25-year-old was actually batting with Pant’s willow, others felt that Kishan may have written “RP17” on his bat.

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Kishan opens up on Pant’s advice ahead of West Indies tour

Speaking after the day’s play, Kishan revealed that he had met Pant at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) ahead of the West Indies. The latter, who is recuperating after having suffered multiple injuries in a horrific car crash last year, gave the Jharkhand keeper-batter some tips on bat position.

Opening up about the same, Kishan said in a video posted by BCCI:

“I was at NCA before coming here. I was practicing there and Rishabh was also there for his rehab. He just got few points for me; he asked me the bat position and everything. Because we have played together, so many matches, we are together since Under-19. So he knows how I play, what my mindset is. So he just helped me a little bit with my bat position and everything.

“So otherwise I think I also wanted someone to tell me a few things about my batting and it was a great time for him to come and chat with me and I am really thankful for that," the left-handed batter went on to add.

After India declared their second innings, they reduced West Indies to 76/2 as Ravichandran Ashwin got the wickets of Kraigg Brathwaite (28) and Kirk McKenzie (0). Set a target of 365, West Indies need a further 289 runs on Day 5 to pull off an improbable win.