Ishan Kishan looks impossible to contain, and his momentum has carried straight from the T20 World Cup into the Indian Premier League season. The Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter has been delivering one impactful innings after another, and on Saturday he produced a standout knock of 74 off only 31 balls\u2014striking 11 fours and clearing the ropes 3 times\u2014to steer SRH toward a successful chase of 229. The chase was completed with five wickets in hand and nine balls still available. With 312 runs from eight matches, Kishan is firmly in the run-scoring conversation in the 19th edition of the T20 tournament.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also worth noting that Kishan finished as India\u2019s second-highest run-getter during the World Cup-winning campaign, where he struck 317 runs in total. Yet even after another high-profile performance, he believes his best is still to come, insisting that audiences have not seen the full extent of what he can do.<\/p>\n
After being named Player of the Match, Kishan was asked whether this innings represented the finest batting of his career. The SRH wicketkeeper-batter immediately shut down that suggestion, answering with a clear \u201cno\u201d when asked if it was his career-best.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I think my best is yet to come,\u201d Kishan said. \u201cYou have to be in a good headspace\u2014just watch the ball and don\u2019t get ahead of yourself about which shots you\u2019re going to play. So I was simply thinking, let\u2019s watch the ball. It\u2019s a big ground, so I\u2019ll keep finding some gaps, big gaps. When the ball isn\u2019t there, maybe you can drive it into the gap, and you keep the run-rate moving. That was the job. I think it was a pretty good wicket\u2014there wasn\u2019t much thinking required. Just bat, bat, and enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Against the Rajasthan Royals, Kishan played a key role in a dominant partnership with Abhishek Sharma. The two combined for a 132-run stand off just 55 deliveries, with Abhishek contributing 57 from 29 balls. Once the duo were dismissed, the momentum had already been firmly set, and SRH ultimately reached the target in the 19th over.<\/p>\n
Explaining how the chase was managed, Kishan said, \u201cI think we were pretty calm. And the most important thing when you\u2019re chasing a total like 228 is you need a good powerplay first. With Head and Abhishek opening, they make it easier for the rest of the batters, even if you\u2019re only batting for four overs. So I was just batting with them and communicating with Abhishek.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that the communication and awareness helped the pair settle quickly in the middle. \u201cHe was very aware of the game\u2014what was happening, what the run-rate was. I was just playing my shots, and I think both of us put together a great partnership in the middle, which helped our team,\u201d Kishan said.<\/p>\n
The Rajasthan Royals match also signalled the return of Pat Cummins to the SRH leadership role as skipper. With Cummins absent earlier, Kishan captained the franchise in seven games and guided them to four wins. Still, once the pacer returned to full fitness, Kishan was pleased to hand over the reins.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was quite fun, leading the side for seven games, and then Pat coming in and giving us that extra bowling firepower. I was really happy when he returned to the team because he\u2019s a tremendous captain. So for me, I was thinking about my batting and wicketkeeping more than leadership,\u201d Kishan said.<\/p>\n
With the win over RR, SRH moved up to third place in the points table. Their next assignment is against the Mumbai Indians on Wednesday, April 29, at the Wankhede Stadium.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ishan Kishan looks impossible to contain, and his momentum has carried straight from the T20 World Cup into the Indian Premier League season. The Sunrisers…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":5370,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Ishan Kishan 74 off 31: SRH vs RR IPL Match Recap","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Ishan Kishan\u2019s 74 off 31 powers SRH in an IPL chase of 229 vs RR, with 11 fours and 3 sixes as Rajasthan\u2019s pressure crumbles.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n