Ishan Kishan made a grand comeback in the IPL as he scored a match winning 106 run knock against Rajasthan Royals on Sunday to help his team post a total of 286 runs. Kishan was named Player of the Match as SRH won the game by 44 runs in the end.
Shortly thereafter a barrage of Ishan Kishan memes began to flood the internet, lauding the heroics of the 26-year-old batsman, who had fallen out of favour with both the BCCI and his IPL franchise – Mumbai Indians.
Kishan scores maiden IPL ton:
Coming in to bat at number 3 spot after the early wicket of Abhishek Sharma, Kishan made a partnership with Travis Head that put the Royals under pressure as both left handers kept smashing the bowlers around the park and maintained a healthy run rate of over 13.
While Head was dismissed on a score of 67 (31), Kishan kept maintaining the tempo of the SRH innings and batted till the end. The left hander ultimately went on to score his first IPL century on IPL debut and ended with a score of 106 off 47 balls. Incidentally, this was also the first Indian centurian for SRH – joining the elite list of David Warner, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Heinrich Klaasen and Travis Head.
In the 106 matches played in the IPL across three franchises – Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad – Kishan has scored 2,750 runs at an average of 29.57 and a strike rate of 137.50. The stylish left-handed batter has scored 16 half-centuries and one century in the process.
What did Ishan Kishan say after the match?
Speaking to the broadcasters after the match, Kishan said, “Feels good, it was coming for a while. Wanted to get this last season but happy to get that first hundred. The team has put their faith in me, and I want to do my best for them,”
Lauding skipper Pat Cummins for the freedom given to SRH batters, Kishan said, “The captain, especially the skipper in our team, he is just giving a lot of freedom to everyone in the team, it doesn’t matter if you get a lot of runs or you get out early, until unless you are doing everything for the team, it’s fair and that is the confidence every player needs,”
