Only a couple of months ago, Ishan Kishan was on his haunches after missing his maiden international hundred by seven runs in Ranchi. Now he doesn’t just have a hundred but a double hundred by his name - and the fastest ever in men's ODIs for that matter.
Kishan got to his double hundred against Bangladesh in Chattogram off only 126 balls. That is 12 balls quicker than Chris Gayle who had hitherto held the record. And the India opener had 15 more overs in front of him when he got to the milestone. No wonder he was eyeing something even bigger.
"I'm blessed to hear my name alongside such legends. Still feel when I got out, 15 overs were left. Could've scored 300 also!" Kishan told the host broadcaster during the innings break in Chattogram, where India racked up a score of 409/8 after being asked to bat first.
"The wicket was too good to bat on. My intent was very clear: if the ball is there, I'll go for it," Kishan further said about the pitch. Compared to Dhaka in the first two ODIs, this pitch in Chattogram offered true bounce to play the shots and little lateral movement.
Kishan and Virat Kohli were involved in a grand 290-run stand for the second wicket, with the latter also bringing up his 72nd international hundred. Kishan said that batting with Kohli helped him stay grounded and not throw it away, like he had done in Ranchi against South Africa.
"Batting with Virat bhai... he has such a good sense of the game. He was spot on with which bowlers I needed to select (pick and target). He was calming me down when I was in my 90s. I wanted to bring it up with a six, but he said to get it in singles as it's my first."
Kishan also revealed that a chat with his Mumbai Indians teammate Suryakumar Yadav boosted his confidence. "Had a chat with Surya bhai. He said when you bat before the game, you see the ball well. I didn't take too much pressure on myself. Just wanted to make use of the opportunity."
With this hundred, Kishan has announced his candidacy for the opening spot, a position which will be crucial when India play the World Cup at home later next year.
