“If I am going, I am going all out” – Ishan Kishan explains how he made Charith Asalanka’s catch look easy in 1st IND vs SL T20I
India wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan took a spectacular catch to dismiss Charith Asalanka in the first T20I against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, January 3. He ran in from behind the stumps to fine leg and put in a timely dive to complete the catch. Harshal Patel came in to take the catch, but Kishan called for it loud and clear.
In a conversation with fielding coach T Dilip, Ishan Kishan explained the importance of proper calling in high catches. He also credited the hard work in the practice sessions that paid off.
Sharing the video on Twitter, BCCI captioned the post:
“Decoding @ishankishan51’s superb running catch.”
Kishan said:
“I think we have seen when we were playing in Bangladesh. There were some problems with catches where the calling was not loud and clear. So, my plan was if I am going, I am going all out.”
He continued:
“I don’t want to create confusion, so I called. In the practice session as well, I had talked to Dilip sir that in high catches, calling becomes very important. We practiced it with a tennis racquet and a softball. The hard work paid off.”
Ishan Kishan only batter to shine in the top order as India beat Sri Lanka by 2 runs
Ishan Kishan scored 37 off 29 balls in the first T20I against Sri Lanka. He was the only batter to shine in the top order, as debutant Shubman Gill (7), Suryakumar Yadav (7), and Sanju Samson (5) disappointed with the bat. Captain Hardik Pandya produced a fighting 29 off 27 balls.
A quickfire sixth-wicket partnership between Deepak Hooda (41* off 23 balls) and Axar Patel (31* off 20 balls) helped India reach a fighting total.
In response, Sri Lanka were reduced to 68/5, but top knocks from captain Dasun Shanaka (45), Kusal Mendis (28), Wanindu Hasaranga (21), and Chamika Karunaratne (23* off 16 balls) kept them in the hunt. Axar Patel defended 13 runs off the last over to help India win by two runs and lead the series 1-0.
Shivam Mavi shone on his debut with a four-wicket haul, while Harshal Patel and Umran Malik shared two wickets each. The two teams will face off in the second T20I on Thursday, January 5.