India dominated West Indies on Day 4 of Test 2 at the Port of Spain. Rohit Sharma’s men declared their innings right after Ishan Kishan reached his maiden Test fifty. The wicketkeeper batter was batting at number four for the visitors in the second innings, usually, the position that Virat Kohli occupies in Tests for them. Talking after his magnificent knock, Kishan revealed that it was Kohli himself who backed Ishan Kishan to bat at number 4.
"It was really special (the half-century). I knew what the team needed from me. Everyone backed me. Virat backed me and told me 'Go and play your game'. Let us hope we will finish the game tomorrow. It was Virat bhai who took the initiative and told me that I should go in. There was a slow left-armer who was bowling. It was a good call for the team. Sometimes you need to take these calls," said Kishan after the day's play.
‘I just wanted to go in and hit every ball’ – Ishan Kishan
"We had the plan that we will play 10-12 overs after the rain break and score 70-80 runs. We wanted a 370-380 target. I was at NCA before this. Pant was also there. He knows how I play. We have known each other for under-19 days. I also wanted someone to advise me and luckily he was there to tell me something about my bat positioning," he added.
"There are so many senior players who keep talking to the bowlers. It should be a good game tomorrow. We need to hit the right areas and important to get early wickets. It was one of my dreams to get into the whites. I just wanted to go in and hit every ball. I am mostly thankful to my parents who have always supported me," concluded Kishan. Talking of the game, India set West Indies a target of 365 runs in the final innings. They are still in need of 289 more runs with eight wickets in hand after reaching 76/2 at stumps, Day 4.
Here's how fans reacted:
Selfless king😌
— Prajwal Kulal99 (@kulal99) July 24, 2023
I thought blud got afraid of only Leg spinner but off spinner too 😭
— S ∆ U R ∆ B H (@Saurabhkry_45) July 24, 2023
Kishan bodied all vadaoav pans🤣🤣
— Virat (@222viratsharma) July 24, 2023
Virat Bhaiya never backed himself to win a trophy 😤😤😤😤
— Anti-Hÿpôčřîťę 👮 (@ChahiyeKisko) July 24, 2023
And Chokli fans were crying all night.
— ②⑥④ (@LuvForCricket) July 24, 2023
Wo khudko to back kar bhi paa rha hai tujhe back karega. Rohit ki vajah se hi team me hai bhai tu kyuki wo mi ka captain hai bas aur kuch nhi
— Prashant Bhardwaj🇮🇳 (@sharmapacific) July 24, 2023
Real Captain : King Kohli👑✅
— biki/🐦/ (@mcg82__) July 24, 2023
Selfless kohli 👏
— Mr Wrong (@wrong_huihui) July 24, 2023
He deserved better fanbase