In order to ensure he didn’t miss the chance to attain the monumental milestone, fiery India opener Ishan Kishan claimed that he requested Virat Kohli to constantly remind him to take singles when he was near to his 200. When an injury to Rohit Sharma gave Kishan a chance to return to the ODI lineup, he took full advantage of the opportunity. The rookie played well to become just the fourth Indian batsman in ODI history to score 200 runs.
While batting and scoring 210 runs against Bangladesh in the third ODI on Saturday, Kishan unleashed a barrage of 24 fours and 10 sixes. It was obvious who would win Player of the Match, and as he accepted the trophy, the 24-year-old said he’d considered hitting a maximum to complete the double century, but Kohli talked him down.
“I think when I was around 197, I was feeling a lot that if Mustafizur bowls me a slower one, I will hit a six by dancing down the track. But you know I had gotten a chance in this one match in this series, so I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I asked him (Kohli) to keep telling me to take singles or else I will hit a big shot off the next ball. So he was just reminding me that I should take singles. That was going on and in my happiness, I didn’t see who was where. Then I saw Virat Bhai behind me and then he told me not to hit him with the bat,” Kishan told broadcasters after the match.
The southpaw also sets a new record for the youngest player to hit a double century in men’s ODIs. Chris Gayle needed 138 balls to get his double century against Zimbabwe in the 2015 ODI World Cup. But, Kishan did it in 126.
Kishan has acknowledged that with veterans like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan in India’s team, he has no grounds to complain about not receiving enough playing time.
Ishan Kishan said, "when I was close to 200, I kept telling Virat bhai to keep telling me to take singles, otherwise I'll dance down the track and smash it. I can't control myself from inside".
Advertisement— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) December 11, 2022
