Ishan Kishan, Prithvi Shaw and India’s route to a brave new T20 world

The fearless batting by the two in the first ODI win over Sri Lanka in Colombo provides India a far more attacking batting line-up in the tournament in October-November.

When Ishan Kishan came out to bat on Sunday in the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo, Prithvi Shaw had holed out to long-on, misjudging the length of an off-break that had gripped a tad. His response? Bring out the dancing shoes, meet the first ball almost three meters outside the crease and send it sailing into the stands—an 81-metre six.

Indian batsmen Prithvi Shaw (L) and Ishan Kishan (R) (HT Collage)

Kishan has made it a habit of making a good first impression. In March on his T20 debut, he got off the mark first ball flicking Jofra Archer for four before putting up an aerial show in front of a noisy Ahmedabad crowd with skipper Virat Kohli watching from the other end. Against Sri Lanka in his first ODI, he again made light of the pressures of an India debut by constantly using his feet against spin.

“I had told my teammates I will hit the first ball for a six,” he told the broadcasters. “The odds were with me, it was my birthday, the pitch was good, I was playing my first match.”

Batting at the other end, his captain Shikhar Dhawan advised him mid-pitch to take it easy. “I told paaji, yeh sab chodo, aap muje single de do (forget it, just take a single and give me strike). If it’s working, let's keep going,” Kishan recalled.

Before Kishan, Shaw had rocked Sri Lanka with nine boundaries in the first five overs. Shaw does not go searching for sixes, he decorates the highlights wheel with silken drives. His high back lift provides the flourish.

Most of India’s batting newcomers have looked ready to roll. The T20 World Cup is less than three months away and India’s top order, between the squad in England and Sri Lanka, is brimming with talent. There is experience and dynamism to choose from. Everyone from Dhawan, Kishan, KL Rahul, Kohli and Rohit Sharma batted in the top order in the last home series against England. Kohli and Sharma opened in the last T20I and mounted a 94-run stand. But the captain’s declaration about their opening regularly seems a long time ago. The all-out attack by Kishan and Shaw shows there are passages of play even in a ODI that can provide cues for World Cup selection.

“It was great to watch from the other end. (It’s a) great strength to have them. The way Prithvi and Ishan batted, they finished the game in the first 15 overs,” said Dhawan, who top-scored with 86*. “Even when Surya (Yadav) batted, it looked so easy. I was like maybe I have to improve my skill.” Dhawan may have said that half in jest but he too hasn’t given up hope of regaining his lost spot. The left-hander has made an effort of late to improve his strike rate by taking extra risk, shedding the fear of losing his wicket.

Sharma and Kohli are all format gems and will ultimately lead the batting unit at the world event. KL Rahul should make it too. But Kishan and Shaw are pushing one of the big boys to drop down the order or force the issue. Like Dhawan, Kohli too has been striving to widen his batting arc, even toying with laps and scoops in the reverse V.

Between the two young guns, Kishan holds the advantage as a southpaw though no one has batted with greater fluency in the past few months than Shaw. Apart from being relatively conservative, India’s old T20 template has been uni-dimensional with right-handed top-order batsmen. Kishan offers to break the mould, after Dhawan. With the incentive to take advantage of the shorter square boundaries at many venues and to make the opposing analysts’ task that much tougher, most successful T20 units ensure there is a left-hander at the top. West Indies has Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, England has Dawid Malan and Australia has David Warner.

Two national selectors are watching the series in Colombo with five more white-ball outings ahead. Performances against the inexperienced Sri Lanka have to be put in context. But tactically there are many gaps to plug to strengthen India’s World Cup pursuit. The Dhawan-led squad promises to come up with some new alternatives.