Ishan Kishan wasn’t feeling too confident, given the nature of the pitch on offer in Nisshin on Thursday. Taking that in his stride, Ishan remained composed and produced a quality innings (80 not out off 46 balls) that laid the platform for India’s massive 124-run victory over Sri Lanka in the semi-final of the Asian Games men’s cricket.
Barring Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (38 off 21 balls), who opened the innings along with Abhishek Sharma with Sanju Samson batting at No.3, the job looked tough for the Indian batters even against a second-string Sri Lanka, before Ishan stepped up and delivered with his crucial knock.
Courtesy of the left-hander’s innings, which included four boundaries and five maximums, India posted a competitive 169/7. The target on such a wicket proved a little too much to get for the Sri Lankans, as Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and the like turned it into a no-contest to dismiss the Islanders for just 45 with 10.1 overs remaining.
On Saturday, it will be another India-Pakistan men’s cricket final after last year’s Asia Cup decider in Dubai. Pakistan, in the other semi-final clash which was a rain-hit game, beat Bangladesh by six wickets to qualify for the gold-medal clash.
In the decider too, the conditions at the Korogi Athletic Park ground in Nisshin could be quite similar, thus making life hard for batters. India’s task against Pakistan, though, could become simpler if they keep calm and stay in the moment, Ishan emphasised.
“I think it’s about just keeping it simple, you know. You don’t need to think so much. We played today (Thursday), so we know the conditions are not going to be so easy.
“They (Pakistan) are also a spinner-friendly team. At the same time, you don’t need to think what’s going to happen after two days. You just need to keep calm, play your shots, be in the moment and enjoy those crunch moments,” Ishan said.
Talking about batting on that sort of a pitch, Ishan stated: “In our team meeting, we had a plan. Any one batsman who’s set in the middle is supposed to be there and play till the 20th over as that’s the best way to score and help the team reach a certain total.”
The initial target was to take the team total to around 150, which Ishan felt would have put the team in a safer position on that surface. “It was very important for us to get to that total. First, you set a target regarding the total needed for this kind of wicket.
“Then, having those match-winners in your side, you know you need to at least get 150-odd to just be on the safer side.
“So, the goal was simple. We somehow needed to reach 150, and I was just playing those shots which were needed at that point in time,” Ishan explained.
Brief scores: India 169/7 in 20 ovs (Ishan Kishan 80 n.o.). Sri Lanka 45 in 9.5 ovs (Jasprit Bumrah 2/7, Axar Patel 2/8). India won by 124 runs.