'Inspiration for youngsters' - Fans react as Ishan Kishan thanks Rishabh Pant for helping him improve his batting tactics

Star Indian wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan extended his gratitude to his teammate Rishabh Pant after Day 4 of the second Test match between West Indies and India in Port of Spain. The former spoke about the time when Pant helped him improve his batting technique including bat position and other changes at National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru.

“I was at NCA before coming here, I was practising there and Rishabh was also there for his rehab. He asked me if I know the bat position and everything because he had seen me playing with him. So, he helped me a little bit with my bat position and everything. I am really thankful for that,” said Kishan.

This statement from Kishan for his former U-19 opening partner drew a lot of praise from Indian cricket fans. They took to Twitter to shower praises on the 25-year-old for his grateful attitude towards his teammate.

Here’s how fans reacted:

Hey Rishabh Pant - Ishan Kishan thanks you 😊#TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @RishabhPant17 | @ishankishan51 | @windiescricket pic.twitter.com/hH6WxxJskz

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 24, 2023

Inspiration for youngsters 🫡

— Rowan (@JustLikeGon) July 24, 2023

Yeh sab bolkr mujhe fan bana liya tune #IshanKishan

— theawakenindian (@jai_maa_bhartee) July 24, 2023

Ishan Kishan thanked Rishabh Pant for helping in bat positions before going to WI Tests.

Both were openers for India U-19 in 2016 WC with Ishan leading the team and today he had "RP 17" written in his bat.

A beautiful story in Indian cricket. pic.twitter.com/5gxB6mVjHY

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 24, 2023

We have seen this before
From kuldeep yadav to ishan kishan
RP17💙

— Naman (@NAMAN_1904) July 23, 2023

And those shots also matches the same

— Bharathgotla (@Bharathgotla1) July 24, 2023

Unconditional love ♥️

— Suribabu Tammina (@SuribabuTammina) July 24, 2023

How sweet 🥰😘

— Kunal yergude (@YergudeKunal) July 24, 2023

No one can match @RishabhPant17's vibe in test cricket

— Tejas Mundhe 🇮🇳 (@TejasMundhe17) July 24, 2023

Chain kuli ki main kuli in real life 😁😁

— Amogh Srivastava (@Amogh0605) July 24, 2023

India wicketkeepers and one-handed sixes 😍

Rishabh Pant 🤝Ishan Kishan#IshanKishan #RishabhPant #India #WIvsIND #cricket #Tests pic.twitter.com/8SAKilRGqZ

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) July 23, 2023

Notably, the young Southpaw played a brilliant quickfire knock of 52 runs off just 34 balls with 4 sixes and two sixes in the second innings of the Test match. He played a crucial role in guiding India to a good total of 181 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in the second innings, courtesy of Ishan’s half-century and skipper Rohit Sharma’s 57-run knock.

Taking a look at the current position of the Port of Spain Test, the hosts lost 2 wickets for 76 runs at the end of Day 4, chasing a target of 365 runs set by India. The veteran Indian off-spinner and World number one Test bowler Ravichandran Ashwin scalped both wickets for India in the second innings.

West Indies require 289 runs with 8 wickets in hand on the last day of the final Test of the two-match series. It is the first assignment for both teams in the new World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle.