Ishan Kishan opens India's eyes to new age of batting

In fastest double-hundred, Kishan’s uncluttered approach underlines need of the hour

The result was always inconsequential from the context of the series. Records too, are meant to be broken. What Ishan Kishan has achieved (210 off 131 balls) at Chattogram though will probably stand for some time to come—fewest balls (126) to an ODI double hundred, youngest (24 years 154 days) to the feat and the first player to convert a maiden hundred into a double. These are special numbers any day, anywhere and against any opposition.

By the end of the 10th over, Kishan was on 33 from 40 balls. In the next 91 balls, he scored 177. (Ishan Kishan Twitter)

But that’s not important here. Of much more significance was how Kishan ripped the veil over India’s eyes to an alternate school of batting, one that doesn’t adhere to any template but treats every ball according to its merit, doesn’t care for projected scores but just goes about the innings riding the momentum by meticulously bludgeoning bowlers into submission. From taking 68 balls to reach the first 50 runs, India notched up the next seven 50 runs in 34 balls, 37 balls, 21 balls, 23 balls, 31 balls, 39 balls and 38 balls.

Kishan was responsible for all but the last two offensives, dominating a 290-run second wicket partnership with Virat Kohli went almost unnoticed in an 85-ball hundred—his first in ODI cricket since August, 2019. Considering 15 overs were still left when Kishan reached 200, he could have not only surpassed Rohit Sharma’s record of 264 but also touched 300 as well. Kishan wouldn’t even have got the opportunity had Sharma not been injured. But talk about grabbing an opportunity by its horns.

"It was a perfect wicket and situation to bat on,” said Kishan at the post-match presentation. “I was just looking to watch the ball properly, and go with the flow. At this level, whenever you get the chance, you need to make the most out of it. I was just picking the ball and the bowlers, and things were going my way.”

Kohli’s guidance was crucial to Kishan achieving this feat.

"Batting with Virat bhai... he has such a good sense of the game. He was spot on with which bowlers I needed to select,” he told the broadcasters during the innings break. “He was calming me down when I was in my 90s. I wanted to bring it up with a six, but he said to get it in singles as it's my first."

Suryakumar Yadav also played an invisible hand here. "Had a chat with Surya bhai. He said when you bat before the game, you see the ball well. I didn't take too much pressure on myself. Just wanted to make use of the opportunity,” said Kishan.

The hundred from Kohli, along with cameos from Washington Sundar and Axar Patel meant for the first time since October 2015 that a team other than England had run up a 400-plus score in men's ODIs. And that’s a huge statement given India were seemingly stuck in a scoring rut, refusing to break away from the mentality of accelerating only after the 30th over.

Shikhar Dhawan, Sharma and Kohli are essentially the ODI generation that had to adapt to T20. Kishan, a T20 era batter, had no compulsion of building and consolidating because 50 overs necessarily mean two-and-a-half T20 innings to batters like him. And with an extra fielder mandated inside the circle between overs 11 to 40, he was intent on exploiting the advantage to his hilt.

He stayed within his arc, slogging across the line and coming down the pitch to bowlers. The intent was to pick as many boundaries as possible. Kishan got 24, clearing the rope 10 times in a stunning assault that reduced Bangladesh to mere bystanders. What stood out in that uninhibited display of aggression was Kishan’s resolve of not letting go of any bad ball. He pulled, punched, flicked and cut with precision. One ball Ebadot Hossain bowled so wide Kishan could have let it go. But he still ended up thwacking it hard, the bottom hand coming off a result, for a boundary.

The audacity of what followed clearly caught Bangladesh off guard. By the end of the 10th over, Kishan was on 33 from 40 balls. In the next 91 balls, he scored 177—the most by any batter in this phase of an ODI innings. This score is a one-off. But India must not lose sight of the bigger picture here—that it would have been alright even if Kishan had got 150. For it would have still given India enough time to play around a score of 350, easily the par score on subcontinent pitches nowadays. Kishan’s ruthlessness is exactly what India need at the top to unshackle their batting potential. The onus thus is now on the management to not let Kishan, or any similar talent, to wither away after such a high.