NEW DELHI: Watching Vaibhav Sooryavanshi go full throttle almost left Ishan Kishan stunned, as the Sunrisers Hyderabad batter stood on the field witnessing the 15-year-old launch towering sixes from the crease into the stands. Sooryavanshi smashed his second IPL century – a blistering 103 off 37 balls – against the Pat Cummins-led SRH.Sooryavanshi’s knock came at a breathtaking pace, as he raced to the third-fastest hundred in IPL history, reaching the milestone in just 36 balls and powering Rajasthan Royals to a formidable 228/6.However, SRH had the final say, chasing down the 229-run target with nine balls to spare. Ishan led the charge with a 31-ball 74, while Abhishek Sharma chipped in with 57 off 29 deliveries, guiding SRH to 229/5 in 18.3 overs.
It wasn’t just a high-scoring thriller in Jaipur – it also featured a light-hearted yet telling exchange between Ishan and the teenage sensation Sooryavanshi.After the match, Ishan revealed that he had a chat with the youngster, who lit up the contest with his explosive innings.“I was just telling him about the madness with which he is batting and how he is hitting. Sometimes, you are even scared thinking about what the scorecard could have looked if he had stayed for a few more overs.“So, it was important for us to get his wicket. It was 228, it could have easily been 258. Cricket is all about comebacks. We got him out and made a little comeback there. That’s what I told him, ‘When I am playing against you, please go a little easy on my team. I know all your secrets and inside stories’,” joked Ishan.Ishan’s comeback storyFor Ishan, the moment also underlined how far he has come. His time away from the Indian team was frustrating, but the left-hander continued to put in the hard yards in domestic cricket, waiting patiently for his opportunity – and making it count when it arrived.He returned to Team India earlier this year for the T20I series against the New Zealand national cricket team and the T20 World Cup, earning a recall after a prolific domestic season in which he captained Jharkhand to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title with over 500 runs.Reflecting on that phase, Ishan said he chose not to dwell on his absence and instead focused on improving his consistency.“When I wasn’t playing and was out of the team, I told myself I can’t cry or sulk about it. It’s the easiest thing to do for any sportsman. It might earn you the sympathy of a few people, you might even feel good about it, but it won’t get you anywhere,” Ishan told JioHotstar.“The only thing that could have gotten me back into the reckoning was runs. So, I just wanted to improve my game and score as many runs as I could, even if that meant hitting more sixes than any other batter.”He added that the phase only made him hungrier.“Only consistent run-scoring can bring you back into the team. If 300 runs in a season are not enough, score 400; if not that, score 500. At the end of the day, cricket is our daily bread.
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“When you’re out of the team, you understand its importance and start respecting every game. You become hungrier, and that was my focus: to become the best,” he added.Now batting at No. 3, Ishan showcased that maturity with a blistering 31-ball 74 in the same match, steering SRH through a steep chase.“After having played for so many years as a No. 3 batter, if you are set, you look to score big and bat till the end. It makes the job easier for the other batters with you, as they don’t feel the pressure.“That is my only thinking, to keep things as simple as I can, be in a good headspace, and just take it one match at a time. If we play good cricket, the rest of the team will learn from it.“In the end, it’s a team sport. When you play good cricket, it rubs off on the others. I have also made a lot of mistakes, so my only aim is not to repeat them, which unfortunately, I did in the end in this game,” he added.
