I am here to strike, says Ishan Kishan

Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan said his aim while making a terrific 75 against Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 match at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium was that whatever deliveries were coming in his arc, he had to go for it. Kishan slammed a terrific 75, helped by seven fours and four sixes at a strike-rate of 182.93 while sharing a match-winning partnership of 116 for the third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav to help Mumbai chase down 215 and beat Punjab Kings by six wickets. “The wicket was too good to bat on and I kept for 20 overs so I knew how the wicket was playing. And when you are chasing you need to keep the momentum. Whenever it was in the arc I was going to go for it, ” he said after the game ended. Though the duo fell in the back end of the chase, Tilak Varma and Tim David kept the attack going to complete the chase with seven balls to spare. The win also means Mumbai have ten points and have gone past Punjab to be in sixth position in the points table. “I think it doesn’t matter when you are chasing and they have a good bowling attack. You don’t want to take it to the last over. You want to finish it off as quickly as possible so it’s easier for the newer batsmen, ” he added. Kishan was initially troubled by left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh, before hitting him for 20 runs and swinging boundaries over the bowler’s head. “I know he was swinging the ball pretty well so I thought about stepping out to him. That was the plan and the message from the coach as well. To keep the momentum going and watch the ball and play your own game, ” he stated.