Dashing Indian opener Abhishek Sharma has revealed that Ishan Kishan prefers to be in an intense zone and never tries to smile while coming out to bat, adding that his role is to remove the pressure off the No.3 batter.
Notably, Abhishek scored 69 off 30, and Kishan hit 37 off 18 as India posted a whopping total of 223 runs in 20 overs in the third T20I against the West Indies on Sunday, October 11. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Sharma hailed Kishan.
“He [Ishan] doesn’t smile when he comes in to bat. So, I have to make him smile and feel relaxed. He likes to be in that zone when he walks to bat. But we have a good bonding. We have had a lot of partnerships in the IPL as well. So, we understand each other pretty well. Ishan comes in when we are one wicket down. There is a bit of pressure on him for the first few balls. I just want to release him from that,” Sharma said.
In the third T20I, India posted a daunting total of 223 in 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma (69 off 30) was the top scorer. Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph and Shamar Springer scalped two wickets each.
In the second innings, West Indies could score 209/7 in 20 overs, losing the game by 14 runs. Kamil Pooran (42), Shimron Hetmyer (43) and Shamar Springer (35*) were the top scorers. Arshdeep Singh scalped a three-fer.
Further, Abhishek praised the newcomer Naman Dhir, who also hails from Punjab. Notably, Dhir returned with the figures of 2/39 in three overs in Indore. Earlier in the first T20I, Dhir scalped a three-fer.
“I have seen him from U-14 days, so I know how well he can bowl. Obviously, he has that talent of bowling. We saw that in the last game as well. But I feel you just have to tell him that plan, probably. It’s that moment, probably the bowler doesn’t think too much at the moment he gets hit. We wanted him to delay things a bit and bowl his best ball – the off-spinner. That actually helped him,” Sharma added.
