SL vs IND | Everyone knew that I will hit the first ball for a maximum, reveals Ishan KishanÂ
Kishan made his ODI debut alongside Suryakumar Yadav
|India's wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan has revealed that he had told everyone in the dressing room before strolling down to the middle that he will smash the first ball of his inning for a six. He also added that Rahul Dravid had told him beforehand that he will be batting at the no.3 slot.
Ishan Kishan has a different swagger about him, and the boy knows a thing or two about making memorable debuts. After smashing a fifty on his T20I debut against England, earlier this year, he replicated the same in his first ODI as well, crossing the 50-run-mark against Sri Lanka in Colombo. However, the most memorable moment came when he smashed the very first ball he faced for a six on the bowling of Dhananjaya de Silva, the same bowler who had removed Prithvi Shaw the preceding delivery when the Indian opener had tried to take him to the cleaners.Â
Post the game, the left-handed batter revealed that he had already decided from the dressing room and had even announced that he will be hammering his first ball for a maximum, which he did as well.Â
"Actually, everyone knew it, inside also I had already told everyone that once I go, wherever the first ball is, I will hit it for a six. Because the odds were in my favor - birthday plus a good pitch and I was playing my first ODI and I felt I could target him," Ishan Kishan told the host broadcasters, reported HT.
"The most special thing was that it was my birthday and I was playing my first ODI. Everyone asks for a return gift, so I always wanted to give it by playing a good knock and helping the team win," he added.
With Suryakumar Yadav and Manish Pandey in the batting unit already, it came as a surprise when Ishan Kishan was sent in at #3 for India. A natural opener in the 50-overs format, Kishan revealed that he was training with the new ball as Rahul Dravid had already told him about his batting position.
"Dravid Sir had already told me during the practice sessions that I will bat at No.3. So whatever practice I had to do with the new ball, obviously I was doing for a long time. It was not something that we decided during the match, it was decided beforehand," Kishan said.
"I told him to just forget all that and just give me the strike. If I am able to hit it, why not continue hitting," Kishan signed off.
The second ODI of the three-match series will take place on July 20 at the same venue. It will be a must-win game for Sri Lanka after India gained a lead of 1-0 on Sunday.
