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Following Ishan Kishan's brutal 77 against Pakistan which earned India their third-successive win in T20 World Cup, the wicketkeeper-batter's childhood coach Uttam Mazumdar expressed happiness with his pupil's knock in a high-pressure game against the arch-rivals.
Ishan's dream run in T20s continued as he breezed through the Pakistan spin ploy, slamming his second-successive T20 WC fifty and guiding a clinical India to a 61-run win at Colombo on Sunday, while also pulling off some fantastic work behind the stumps, including a stumping to remove a dangerous Usman Khan, who was slowly counter-attacking against Indian bowlers. Speaking to ANI, Ishan's coach said, "I am so happy. He scored 77 runs in 40 balls. To have scored this against Pakistan is truly commendable. I had told him yesterday that you have to dedicate your knock to your country. Everyone is reallly happy with the way he scored in such a high-pressure match. In Asia Cup (2023), he also scored 80-odd against Pakistan. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav has also done well." From Patna, Bihar, Ishan's parents, Pranav and Suchitra also reacted to their son's knock and India's win. Pranav said to ANI, "We are proud that our team India won. We feel really proud of the fact that Ishan got the 'Player of the Match award', but even prouder that India won. He worked very hard in these two years and played domestic cricket consistently, focused on batting. I will talk to him soon." "Pakistan was trying to put pressure on us, but our strong players did not feel any pressure. We hope this performance continues and India continues to win. The bowling, rotation of bowlers as per the pitch was really good," he added. Ishan's mother also expressed happiness with India's win, while also shutting down any talks about their son's marriage. "We are happy that our Team India won. Congratulations to all the players for the victory. We are happy that he performed well. I hope they continue to play like this and keep winning. Shaadi ki charcha koi nahi hai, abhi World Cup chal raha hai. Abhi toh uski shaadi ki umar hui hi nahi hai (there is no talks about his marriage yet, there is a World Cup going on. He is not at an age to be married yet)," she added. Pakistan elected to field first after winning the toss and after Abhishek was out for a duck, Ishan's ruthless 77 and Tilak's calm 25 kept India stable, but the Men in Blue sank to 126/4, losing their set batters and all-rounder Hardik Pandya (0). However, skipper Suryakumar, Shivam and Rinku did the job of finishing the innings well, pacing their knocks perfectly in tough conditions. India scored 175/7, with Saim Ayub (3/25) being the top bowler for Pakistan. In the run-chase, Pakistan sunk to 34/4 courtesy early strikes from Hardik, Jasprit Bumrah and Axar Patel. Usman Khan (44 in 34 balls, with six fours and a six) was the only one who showed up for the fight, as Team India packed Pakistan for just 114 runs in 18 overs, progressing to the Super 8 stage with their third successive win. Axar (2/29 in four overs) was the pick of the bowlers for India, with Hardik (2/16 in three overs), Bumrah (2/17 in two overs) and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/17 in three overs) also being amongst the wickets. India remains on top with three wins in three matches in Group A, while Pakistan has dropped to third with two wins and a loss, and the USA currently occupies second place with two wins and two losses. India's record against Pakistan in the T20 WC is 8 wins and a loss. (ANI)
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