'He knows how I play': Ishan Kishan on his Rishabh Pant-esque knock in 2nd Test

Day 4’s play in the India vs West Indies, second Test match concluded with West Indies on 76/2 in their second batting innings chasing a giant target of 365 runs, set by the visitors. Winning the toss at Queen Park’s Oval, Kraigg Brathwaite opted to bowl first, as India ended up scoring 438 runs riding on the back of Virat Kohli’s 29th Test hundred. Windies were then bowled out on 255 runs before India batted again and declared on 181/2 following a blistering maiden Test half-century by youngster Ishan Kishan.

3 Things You Need To Know

• Ishan Kishan remained unbeaten on 52 off 34 in the second innings
• Kishan hit a total of four fours and two sixes, striking at 152.94
• Earlier in the innings, Rohit Sharma scored 57 off 44 (Five 4s, Three 6s)

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Ishan Kishan’s special mention of Rishabh Pant after fifty with ‘RP 17’ bat

On Day 4, Ishan Kishan completed his fifty with two consecutive sixes, which seemed like the shots played by India’s othe explosive wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. While the cricket world was reminded of Pant on looking at Kishan’s knock, they were also surprised to see Pant’s initials and his jersey no. (RP 17) written on Kishan’s bat. Speaking at the end of day’s play, Kishan spoke in length about the thought process behind his innings, while also making a special mention of Pant.

[Ishan Kishan batting with a bat featuring Rishabh Pant's initials and jersey no. | Image: @FanCode/Twitter]

“Was really special. I knew what the team needed from me. Everyone backed me. Virat backed me and told me go and play your game. Let's hope we will finish the game tomorrow. It was Virat bhai who took the initiative and told that I should go in. There was a slow left-armer who was bowling. It was a good call for the team. Sometimes you need to take these calls. We had the plan that we will play 10-12 overs after the rain break and score 70-80 runs. We wanted a 370-380 target,” he said about his knock.

"Known each other since U-19 days"

Speaking about Rishabh Pant, Kishan revealed the two former U-19 and current India cricketers met up at the NCA in Bengaluru before the squad departed for their tour of Windies. “I was at NCA before this. Pant was also there. He knows how I play. We have known each other since under-19 days. I also wanted someone to advise me and luckily he was there to tell me something about my bat positioning,” he said.

Speaking more about his knock at Virat Kohli's batting position (no.4), the 25-year-old added, “There are so many senior players who keep talking to the bowlers. It should be a good game tomorrow. We need to hit the right areas and important to get early wickets. It was one of my dream to get into the whites. I just wanted to go in and hit every ball. Mostly thankful to my parents who have always supported me”.

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It is worth noting that Kishan got elevated to a place in India’s Test squad after Rishabh Pant’s horrific accident in December 2022. While Kishan proved his mettle in the Test squad with a quick-fire fifty, he certainly brought back the happy memories of seeing Rishabh bat. Pant has already made giant progress in his path of recovery and might end up returning to the squad later this year.