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Following his side's successful ICC T20 World Cup campaign, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, who made a triumphant return to the team, expressed hope that his performances will serve as a motivation for young players in the country.
Ishan had a tournament to remember as he emerged as India's second-highest run-getter, with a half-century in the final and two 'Player of the Match' awards against Namibia and arch-rivals Pakistan being the highlights of his campaign. Before the World Cup, Ishan made a return to the Indian set-up for the first time since 2023 after a scintillating Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he led Jharkhand to their maiden title as a captain, scoring 517 runs in 10 innings, with two centuries and two fifties. Speaking to the media, Ishan said, "Our team won, obviously, it is a very good thing, not only for us, but for the whole nation. We hope to continue playing cricket like this and keep winning." Ishan hopes to have inspired young talent through his performances and an inspiring comeback to Team India following a setback, which saw his name get omitted from the central contract list back in 2024 due to his alleged lack of commitment to domestic cricket. With centuries scored across all formats in domestic cricket, Ishan underwent a hard domestic cricket grind and it has no doubt paid off handsomely. "It feels great because I believe the better I perform, the more motivation it will be for the young kids here who want to grow. I always try to ensure as many players as possible emerge from every corner. Now that we've played the World Cup, it shows that with hard work, you can succeed from anywhere," he added. On his future goals, Kishan simply said, "Nothing much, just keep scoring runs, keep playing, and keep winning." Ishan emerged as India's second-highest run-getter in the competition with 317 runs in nine innings at an average of 35.22 and a strike rate of over 193, with three fifties, including one in the finals. This year in 13 T20Is, Ishan has made 532 runs at an average of 40.92 and a strike rate of 207.00, including a century and four fifties, with best score of 103. Coming to the match, NZ won the toss and elected to field first. However, a return-to-form, record-breaking fifty from Abhishek Sharma (52 in 21 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and his 98-run stand with Samson made NZ regret the decision. Later, Samson stitched a century stand with Ishan Kishan (54 in 25 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes) to take India past the 200-run mark in the 16th over. After a brief slowdown, Shivam Dube (26* in eight balls, with three fours and two sixes) made some valuable runs to take India to 255/5, the highest total in T20WC finals. James Neesham (3/46) was the leading wicket-taker for NZ. In the run-chase of 256 runs, Axar Patel (3/23) and Jasprit Bumrah (4/15) reduced the Kiwis to 72/5, despite a half-century from Tim Seifert (52 in 26 balls, with two fours and five sixes). Despite a brief partnership between Daryl Mitchell (17) and skipper Mitchell Santner (43 in 35 balls, with three fours and two sixes), India kept chipping in with wickets, and the Kiwis were bundled out for just 159 runs. (ANI)
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