Ishan Kishan rues missing out on his maiden ODI century

image-l91nakbvIshan Kishan in action (PC: Twitter)

India's young wicket-keeper batter Ishan Kishan missed his maiden ODI century in the second game of the three-match ODI series against South Africa on Sunday, October 9.

Playing at his home ground Ranchi, Kishan fell just seven runs short of his century as the Southpaw tried to smash the half-tracker off Bjorn Fortuin's bowling over the leg-side boundary, but holed out to Reeza Hendricks near midwicket.

Kishan was at his lethal best against the Keshav Maharaj-led side in the second ODI. He hammered the South African bowling attack to all corners of the ground, scoring 93 runs off just 84 balls, including seven sixes and four boundaries. 

Speaking in the post-match conference after India's thumping seven wickets victory, the chase architect Ishan Kishan opened up on missing out on a century, saying he is pleased to have played a big role in the hosts' series-leveling victory.

"When I was fielding they were asking me to get a hundred today, unfortunately, I missed it. No worries, I'm just happy that my team won the game today and maybe in the next game I will give my best and make my team win again." 

Ishan Kishan sheds light on Ranchi's pitch

The Ranchi wicket-keeper batter further stated how the ball was sticking to the surface and wasn't coming onto the bat properly. Since Ishan Kishan has played plenty of cricket at his home ground, it was a bit easy for him to acclimate to the conditions. 

"See, in Ranchi, the ball doesn't come too quickly off the surface. You need to be patient with your shot selection. Needs to be more cautious while playing the strokes. It sticks to the surface a bit. I have played many games here, so I know how it behaves."

The Mumbai Indians' batter played a plethora of delightful cricketing shots during his long stay in the middle. Out of all, it was his pull shots that grabbed the eyeball of the viewers as he was picking the length early and depositing the ball well in the stands. 

Speaking on the same, the 24-year-old said that the pace of Proteas speedster Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje has allowed him to play the strokes freely:

"With Rabada and Nortje, you get the extra pace, which helps to play the strokes. When their deliveries were coming slowly off the deck, I waited for them to appear, and while they bowled at my shoulders, I was going at them."

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