India and New Zealand faced off against each other in the final T20I of the three-match series on February 1, Wednesday and it was captain Hardik Pandya who won the toss and elected to bat first. While the right-handed batter Shubman Gill went on to score a century, Ishan Kishan, on the other hand, was dismissed for just 1 run, continuing his poor run in the T20Is.
For the unversed, Prithvi Shaw was benched for the entire series and many questioned the inclusion of the southpaw ahead of the young right-handed batter. As one could predict, Kishan let the team down as he could get past the single digit and make a name for himself. On the other hand, Gill ensured he stayed in the crease and made a comeback in the shortest format of the game.
With a high score of 89, Kishan averages around 25 in the shortest format of the game with four fifties to his name. Much to the surprise of the fans, it is his poor strike rate which is becoming a cause of concern for the team as his strike rate in the shortest format of the game is only around 122, lesser when compared to his calibre.
Can India clinch the win in the final T20I?
That being said, the Indian team struggled to chase 100 runs in the second T20I and won the game with just 1 ball to spare on Sunday, although they bounced back with the bat as they put on 234 runs on the board at the end of the first innings on Wednesday’s clash with the pitch favouring the batters, doing almost nothing for the Kiwi pacers.
“I always believed that we'll be able to finish the game, but it went quite late. All these games are important with the moments. You don't need to panic because it was about rotating the strike rather than taking the pressure. That's exactly what we did. We followed our basics. To be honest, it was a shocker of a wicket. Both the games we have played on so far,” Pandya was quoted as saying after the thrilling win in the 2nd T20I.
Here’s how fans have reacted to Ishan Kishan’s innings in the second T20I vs New Zealand:
Ishu Kishu Mishu Pishu 🤌🏻🥺 pic.twitter.com/gEo3oAWDDQ
— 🇮🇳ꪜ𝐢𝐧𝐨⁹⁶🚩 (@vinoo_96) February 1, 2023
Kon he ye ishan kishan😂😂😂
— Wrong Brothers😏 (@YoungLa95073370) February 1, 2023
He deserve promotion 👏 for consistency
— Evan (@evanvynk) February 1, 2023
Ishan Shaan hai is tuk tuk academy ka
— Chandru Stan | Ǝ (@Extra_covers17) February 1, 2023
Already said plz make him head of academy..
— Ro-superhit🇮🇳 (@sachrohSachin06) February 1, 2023
Its my request
Today gill betrayed the academy
— Vitthal Jadhav (@vitthal8) February 1, 2023
Permanent student
— VIRAT TILL DEATH (@ViratTilldeath) February 1, 2023
He has a great future in academy and we hope he will do best for the academy in IPL too
— Panther Yadav (@PantherYadav1) February 1, 2023
Academy proud of this gems 😍😍
— kartik sharma (@imkartek) February 1, 2023