"He told me not to hit him with the bat" - Ishan Kishan on celebration with Kohli after 200
Ishan Kishan has acknowledged that he was about to accidentally hit Virat Kohli with his bat while celebrating his double century.
Kishan smashed 210 runs off just 131 balls in the third ODI between India and Bangladesh in Chattogram on Saturday, December 10. His knock helped the Men in Blue set a mammoth 410-run target for the Tigers and they went on to win the match by 227 runs.
During a post-match interview with Sony Sports, Kishan was asked about Kohli's funny reaction and his conversations with the former Indian skipper when he reached the 200-run mark, to which he responded:
"I think when I was around 197, I was feeling a lot that if Mustafizur bowls me a slower one, I will hit a six by dancing down the track. But you know I had gotten a chance in this one match in this series, so I didn't want to miss this opportunity."
"I asked him (Kohli) to keep telling me to take singles else I will hit a big shot off the next ball. So he was just reminding me that I should take singles. That was going on and in my happiness, I didn't see who was where. Then I saw Virat bhai was behind me and then he told me not to hit him with the bat."
Ishan Kishan becomes the youngest cricketer to score a double century 🤩😎
#CricketTwitter #indvsban https://t.co/xHuPUJEP4O
Kishan reached his double century with a single to point off Mustafizur Rahman's bowling. Kohli prematurely celebrated a few deliveries earlier, thinking the opening batter had hit a boundary on 197, but the ball was fielded at deep extra cover, with the duo taking only a single.
"We cannot complain about a lot of things at this level" - Ishan Kishan on not being given enough opportunities
Kishan was also asked about getting intermittent opportunities and his preparations ahead of Saturday's game. He replied:
"I feel we cannot complain about a lot of things at this level because we know that if you have openers like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, I couldn't have asked for an opportunity at the start. When you come to know that there is a chance, you try to put in the extra effort"
The diminutive opener highlighted that the extra yards he had put in before the start of play helped his cause. He explained:
"I came slightly early to the practice session today because in the first two matches, obviously the main team bats first in the net session, and then you don't get that much opportunity. So I came an hour early today to do the net sessions before the match and I feel it helped me a lot."
I cannot put into words what I’m feeling right now but I’ll try. I’m overwhelmed by the love, the messages, the wishes. This is an innings that will stay in my heart forever, a day that I won’t forget, and these moments that I’ll always carry with me. Thank you for everything 🇮🇳 https://t.co/xlNzuWxA4w
The Mumbai Indians (MI) opener mentioned earlier that Suryakumar Yadav advised him to spend some time in the nets ahead of the game, an approach which eventually paid him rich dividends.