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Following India's win over New Zealand, former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin hailed Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav for their sensational knocks, lauding the former for translating his strong domestic cricket form into international cricket.
It was some video game cricket being played at Raipur, as after being down 6/2 while chasing 209 runs, Ishan and Suryakumar piled up fours and sixes against a helpless Kiwi attack, with conditions made more batting-friendly by the presence of dew. India is 2-0 up in the series, with Ishan's run of form and Suryakumar's return to runs being two massive positives for India. This was Suryakumar's first fifty since October 2024, having endured a lean 2025 with the bat, scoring just 218 runs in 19 innings at a shockingly poor average of 13.62 and a strike rate in the early 120s. On the other hand, Ishan, making his comeback to Team India after over two years, continued from where he left during his side Jharkhand's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) win, where he top-scored with 517 runs in 10 innings at an average of 57.44 and a strike rate of over 197, with two centuries and fifties each. Speaking on his YouTube channel 'Ash Ki Baat', Ashwin said, "Ishan Kishan batted brilliantly. Just wow. He batted just as he was batting in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He did not keep selection in mind there. Here also, he could have gone for a hundred but he kept going. That is what sets him apart from some of the others." Ashwin also said that Team India had been playing "soft cricket" in T20Is for a decade and a half, with more focus on milestones and less focus on maximising the powerplay, but now not only is Team India playing T20Is as they should be, but ten times better than any other team around. He also said that there will be fear among teams heading into the T20 World Cup because of India's strong batting line-up. "Many times we have played soft cricket in the last decade and a half in T20 cricket. We have not taken the game forward. We did not look to capitalise the powerplay. Whatever was needed in a T20 team, we are doing 10x better now, and not one batter. Five-six years back, if we were 6/2, we would have made 43/2 or 48/2 and finished the power play. India never pushed back. 75 in the powerplay after being 2 down for nothing. No one will say this is a good team, it is a championship team. All teams will have fear looking at this batting line-up," he said. On skipper Surya's knock, Ashwin said that he made a "proper decision and game plan" of taking his time while Ishan went after the bowlers on the other end. "He knew his form is important for the team. He took some eight to ten balls. After that, he completely opened up and scored as well. He looks in great form. A batter looking in great form need not make big runs in T20 cricket. It is a great positive for India," he said. Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bowl first. Knocks from skipper Mitchell Santner (47* in 27 balls, with six fours and a six) and Rachin Ravindra (44 in 26 balls, with two fours and four sixes) were the highlights as the Kiwis posted 208/6 in their 20 overs. Kuldeep was the pick of the bowlers for India with 2/35 in four overs, with Varun Chakravarthy, Harshit Rana, Hardik Pandya, and Shivam Dube getting a wicket each. In the run chase, India lost Sanju Samson (6) and Abhishek Sharma (0) early, but Ishan (76 in 32 balls, with 11 fours and four sixes) and skipper Surya (82* in 37 balls, with nine fours and four sixes) turned the tide with an unbelievable 122-run stand in eight overs. Shivam (36* in 18 balls, with four and three sixes) also played a quick cameo, taking India to the target in 15.2 overs. (ANI)
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