Ishan Kishan drags India's top-order batting into the 2020s
The first ball that Ishan Kishan faced after the first powerplay, he went hard at Shakib Al Hasan. The ball stopped on him, and lobbed in the air, but fell short of long-on. On another day this could have carried to a fielder. Even if it had, it would have been a refreshing change for India's crowded top-order batting: a score of 33 off 41 and no intention of letting the bowlers get a breather as the field spread.
As it turned out, Kishan ended up playing an innings that might well drag India's top-order batting into the 2020s. He obliterated records for the fastest double-hundred and the earliest one in a team innings, but there is a bigger story in the breakdown of the numbers.
India's leadership is trying to get its batters to adopt a bolder approach in ODIs, which has shown mixed results. Since the 2019 World Cup, they have been the second-quickest-scoring team in the first ten overs, behind England, but whenever Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have played together, India's starts have become considerably slower, their run ran dropping from 5.30 to 4.95.
Even when India make good starts, there is a certain formula by which they score runs. It's based on gradual acceleration with wickets in hand, and a big explosion at the end. It works to an extent, which shows in their general overall record in ODI cricket, but doesn't maximise India's enviable limited-overs batting stocks.
Kishan didn't follow any formula. Two balls after that miscue, he attacked again at the sight of the slightest width. Two balls later, again. And again. And again. He respected a good over from Mehidy Hasan Miraz, nearly playing out a maiden, but if there was any formula it was to keep looking for boundaries. This was the first time since 2009 that an India batter scored 50 or more runs from overs 11 to 20; it won't surprise you that Virender Sehwag was the batter on that occasion.
Batting in T20 is, of course, easier because teams have 10 wickets in 20 overs, but on an individual level, ODIs present an opportunity that T20 specialists don't often get. An extra fielder has to be inside the circle for overs 11 to 40, which has made the format difficult for spinners. It is just one extra infielder, but it makes defensive bowling difficult.
Kishan remained intent on picking that boundary. If they pitched short, he pulled square. If they sent a man back, he played the flick-pull over short fine leg. If they defended square, he went over the extra fielder who had to be brought up to mid-off or mid-on. The margin for error becomes minuscule when bowling to such batters.
In overs 11 to 40, Kishan scored 177, off 91 balls, by far the most runs scored by any batter in this phase of an ODI innings. And he didn't even bat through them. Even when he swung so hard that his bottom hand came off the handle, Kishan managed to clear mid-on. The odd miscue landed in no man's land. He eventually got out trying to hit a six. In a spot interview between innings, he said he could have scored a triple-century. He was successful because he didn't rule anything out, but never went chasing anything.
On another day that dismissal might have come sooner. At 160 or 110 or 60 or whenever. On this day it came at 210, but because he played the way he did, we could dream of 310. It won't always come off, but India need batters who will not limit themselves. Virat Kohli is perhaps the greatest there has ever been at finding that supreme ODI efficiency while playing within himself, but India don't need more batters who approach ODIs in his manner. They have efficiency; they need audacity in equal measure.
On a pure viewing level, Kishan's was a delightful and audacious innings. Right from the time he took down the two Jadejas on a proper dusty Rajkot turner during the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy, Kishan has scored runs against good spin bowling with relative ease. Add to it his ease at pulling thanks perhaps to his short stature, and he had negated Bangladesh's two big weapons.
It can be argued it is easier to have such an uncluttered approach when you don't feature heavily in conversations relating to World Cup selection and, thus, have less to lose, but have a look at the release in Kishan's celebration when he reached the hundred.
Life is another kind of difficult when you are on the bench. In his last ODI series, Kishan set up a successful chase with a similarly attacking 93 off 84 from No. 3 against South Africa. He got that chance because the first-choice top order was in Australia preparing for the T20 World Cup. He probably wouldn't have got this chance in Chattogram had captain Rohit not been injured. In the meanwhile, others have scored runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, most notably Ruturaj Gaikwad.
The volume of talent available to India's selectors and team management, especially in white-ball batting, is immense and is enough to make anyone feel insecure. To be fair to the leadership, they also have to provide some stability to those who do get selected, which makes it difficult for those who don't regularly make it to the final XI. To get that rare chance and make such a bold and selfless statement speaks both of Kishan's skill and mindset.
It is usually once they have clinched a permanent spot, and when they have something to lose, that flashy India batters have tended to change their approach. Now is when India need to make sure Kishan is encouraged to play the way he has done so far in his ODI career. The biggest tangible encouragement is selection.