"Mumbai Indians will gain a lot from this knock" - Mohammad Kaif lauds Ishan Kishan's innings vs Punjab Kings
Mohammad Kaif believes Ishan Kishan's swashbuckling knock against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) will hold the Mumbai Indians (MI) in good stead in IPL 2023 going forward.
PBKS set MI a mammoth 215-run target after being asked to bat in Mohali on Wednesday, May 3. Kishan then smashed 75 runs off 41 balls as the five-time champions chased down the target with six wickets and seven deliveries to spare to climb into sixth spot in the points table.
During a post-match discussion on Star Sports, Kaif was asked about his thoughts on Ishan Kishan's knock, to which he responded:
"These are great signs for the Mumbai Indians for the upcoming matches that runs came from his bat because he hadn't scored too many runs thus far. He hadn't played an impactful knock. Mumbai Indians will gain a lot from this knock."
The former Indian batter pointed out that the Mumbai Indians opener seemed to have regained his touch after getting off to a patchy start in Wednesday's game, elaborating:
"He got slightly stuck at the start. He opened his arms once Rishi Dhawan's spell was over. The leg side is his strong area and he targeted straight down the ground as well. So he stuck to his game. He looked in his flow after a long time."
Kishan had a lucky escape at the start of his innings as he managed to just clear the short-third-man fielder off a snorter from Arshdeep Singh. He then smoked two sixes in Rishi Dhawan's third over and never looked back thereafter.
"He has all types of shots in his arsenal" - Harbhajan Singh on Ishan Kishan
![Ishan Kishan struck seven fours and four sixes during his innings. [P/C: iplt20.com]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/05/b048f-16831802284585-1920.jpg?w=500)
Harbhajan Singh was also asked about his views on Ishan Kishan's knock, to which he replied:
"He is a strong player too. When he was not in the Indian team, we had a lot of discussions about him that he should be in the Indian team, because he has all types of shots in his arsenal."
The former Indian spinner pointed out that while Suryakumar Yadav (66 off 31) played unconventional shots, Kishan brought his power game to the fore, stating:
"He is short in height for sure but his cricketing stature is huge in my opinion. Surya is being talked about more today because Surya played unconventional shots but this guy played powerful shots - over midwicket, straight, over cover - all types of shots."
Kishan added 116 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar. The left-handed opener was chosen as the Player of the Match for his destructive knock.