Former Indian spinner Murali Kartik has showered praise on Ishan Kishan after the first T20I against Afghanistan. The left-hander scored a decent knock of 42 runs off 33 balls in the opening T20I against Afghanistan in the run chase of 157 at Delhi on Sunday. He added 121 runs off 53 balls with Abhishek Sharma, who scored the bulk of the runs in the second-wicket partnership.
Recently, Kishan led East Zone to glory in the Duleep Trophy as he scored a stunning knock of 270 runs in the first innings.
Kartik said bowlers would be taken to the cleaners every time they bowl in Kishan’s strong areas.
“He has been a modicum of consistency for India. Just look at what he has been doing from the time he has come back into the side. He has been phenomenal. He is one of those who has found a way to get runs now. The initial impetuousness that he had when he was in the Indian team before; now the transformation has been heartening to see,” Murali Kartik said on Sony Sports.
“Some of the shots that he plays and some of the control that he has over most of the shots, there are certain no-go areas as a bowler to him. Don’t go into his hips, don’t bowl short, don’t bowl wide; he has got such fast hands, he is going to hurt you every day,” he added.
On the other hand, Kartik also praised Abhishek Sharma’s match-winning knock of 82 runs off just 32 balls. The former left-arm orthodox spinner said the expectations are huge from the opening batter.
“The kind of shots that he plays, the kind of risks that he takes – sometimes you expect too much from him, and sometimes he also expects a bit too much from himself. That’s why there are times when you want him to take that extra moment. He is unstoppable. Even if he defends two, he can hit a six off the third. So he is still going at 200. That’s the kind of strike rate he bats at anyway,” he said.
Kartik highlighted that Yuvraj Singh must have advised Abhishek not to play an aggressive shot on every ball.
“Somebody he looks up to is Yuvraj Singh, and I am pretty sure, knowing Yuvraj Singh, he would have been in his ear saying that you can still have your moments in T20 cricket. You don’t have to go at the rate of knots every ball. That was very evident in the way he batted today (Sunday),” Kartik observed.
The second T20I between India and Afghanistan will be played on Tuesday in Delhi.
