Thiruvananthapuram: In a show of sensational hitting, Ishan Kishan put on a spectacular six-hitting show for the Thiruvananthapuram crowd that had come to cheer their local hero Sanju Samson, but stayed on for Kishan at the Greenfield International Stadium on Saturday.
In the final dress rehearsal before the ICC T20 World Cup starts on February 8, the home team put on such a dazzling all-round show that their opponents would have been left marvelling at India’s firepower, which makes them favourites to defend the title.
Apart from an entertaining century by Kishan, Abhishek Sharma (30 off 16 balls), Suryakumar Yadav (63 off 30) and Hardik Pandya (42/17) all came to the party in the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand. India powered to 271/5 in 20 overs, their third highest total ever.
The bowlers led by Arshdeep Singh’s five-wicket haul then complemented their batters to complete a perfect game for the hosts, bowling out New Zealand for 225 to earn a 46-run win.
The early dismissal of home favourite Samson for six runs was the only disappointment of the evening. It extends the keeper-batter’s poor run with the bat. But the capacity crowd though was not complaining. The pocket-dynamo Kishan entertained them with his six-hitting show, smashing 10 in his superb 103 off 43 balls.
When India bowled, it was Kishan who donned the keeper’s gloves instead of Samson, who had kept wicket in the first four games of the series. It was a clear sign that the Jharkhand player was now the frontrunner to start in the World Cup.
It was a game where the 27-year-old left-hand batter showed the dynamism he brings to the batting. In India, batting against the spinners in the middle overs is the challenging phase, and that is where he made the difference along with Surya during a third wicket partnership of 137 off 58 balls for the third wicket.
The two joined forces at the start of the sixth over at the score of 48/2, and in the next 10 overs powered the team to 185 when Surya fell. The highlight of the stand was how they dismantled the spin plan of the Kiwis.
Skipper Mitchell Santner, who was Man-of-the-Match in the previous game for his three wickets, was plundered for 60 runs in four overs. Leg-spinner Ish Sodhi was taken for 48 runs in three overs.
In reply, opener Finn Allen (80, 38 b) provided New Zealand the start they needed, helping them reach 117 in nine overs. But once Allen was foxed by left-arm spinner Axar Patel, the visitors kept losing wickets. After Axar also picked Glenn Phillips early, Arshdeep Singh struck a double blow in the 12th over. The left-arm pacer later ran through the tail to finish with figures of 4-0-51-5.
The highlight of Kishan’s show was the 29 runs he took off Sodhi in the 12th over. After bringing up his fifty off the first ball – he hit a 28-ball fifty – Kishan went berserk, smashing four fours and two sixes.
Except for an under-edge off the third ball from Sodhi, it was a show of clean-hitting by Kishan.
NZ’s best bowler on the day Lockie Ferguson was also not spared. The speedster was smashed over extra cover for his seventh straight boundary as Kishan continued, after his six successive hits off Sodhi.
As the packed crowd roared, his captain just stood there and applauded.
Kishan brought up his 100 with two clean sixes off Santner with Hardik, with whom he shares a strong bond from his Mumbai Indians days, at the other end.
Ishan stabbed the air with his bat and roared before Hardik held him in a bear hug. The senior player knows what turmoil Kishan has gone through after being out of the India team for two years. Their emotional celebration said it all.
