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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Feb 25, 2022, 11:39 AM IST
After a couple of subdued performances against West Indies in the recent T20Is, Ishan Kishan was under pressure to perform versus Sri Lanka. The youngster was given an extended run in the team, thanks to Ruturaj Gaikwad’s injury, and Kishan duly rose to the occasion by scoring a brilliant 56-ball 89.
Sri Lanka skipper Dusan Shanaka won the toss and asked India to bat first, after which Rohit Sharma joined Kishan as India’s opening partnership. They put up a brilliant 111-run stand for the first wicket, thanks to Rohit’s 44 run knock in 32 balls.
While the Indian skipper was bowled by Sri Lanka’s Lahiru Kumara, Kishan continued his charge to help the home side to a mammoth total of 199/2 in their respective 20 overs.
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The 23-year-old wicket-keeper batsman struck 10 boundaries and 3 sixes with a strike rate of 158 en route to his knock of 89 runs.
After his splendid 56-ball 89 in the first T20I against Sri Lanka, @ishankishan51 spoke about his conversations with @ImRo45 and the inputs he has received from the #TeamIndia Captain. #INDvSL | @Paytm pic.twitter.com/jkq0qOxcEP
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 25, 2022
His brilliant display with the willow saw Ishan surpass a unique milestone as he went past Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and MS Dhoni’s batting record. The Patna-born cricketer registered the highest individual score by an Indian wicket-keeper in T20I format on Thursday.
What’s worth noting here is that only matches where Rahul and Kishan have kept the wickets have been included in this list. On plenty of occasions, the duo has played matches for India, simply as a specialist batsman.
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With Rishabh Pant rested, and KL Rahul out through injury, Kishan will continue to keep the wickets in the T20I series at least.
Highest individual scores by an Indian wicket-keeper in T20I cricket:
Ishan Kishan- 89
Rishabh Pant- 65
KL Rahul- 57
MS Dhoni- 56
Earlier, Kishan was bought by Mumbai Indians (MI) for a whopping sum of Rs 15.25 crores in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 mega auction. By virtue of that, he became the second-most-expensive Indian player in the cash-rich league, behind Yuvraj Singh.