Mumbai Indians enigma Ishan Kishan made his India debut with a bold statement, scoring a brilliant 32 ball 56 and bagging the Man of the Match award in a match in which Virat Kohli also scored a fifty and compiled more runs than him.
The Jharkhand skipper was hailed by all, especially former and current India cricketers for his heroics which helped Team India draw level (1-1) in the five-match T20I series against England.
Kishan, 22, opened the innings and did not lose his cool even as more accomplished KL Rahul was removed for a nought at the other end. Batting with skipper Kohli, the Nalanda born stole the show and was the centre of attraction as long as he remained on the ground. In total, the former India Under-19 hit four sixes and five scoring 78.5% of his 56 runs in boundaries.
It was nothing less than a dream debut for Kishan who scored with a thundering strike rate of 175. Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony he said, “It's not easy to come and play your first game against a quality side. I was disappointed with the fact that I didn't finish the game. I don't know if I'm gonna get this feeling again, but really proud and happy and I want to thank all my coaches, seniors and everyone who helped me get here.”
The Jharkhand lad also got an emotional saying, “My coach's Dad passed away a few days back and this innings was for him. I wanted to prove myself because he said you have to score at least fifty for my Dad. So I want to dedicate this award to him.”