India and South Africa began their five-match T20I series in the punishing heat of Delhi on Tuesday evening with a high-scoring encounter. Powered by Ishan Kishan’s 48-ball 76 and Hardik Pandya’s blistering 12-ball 31*, the hosts set a mammoth 212 to win but South Africa chased it down with relative ease for a seven-wicket win and a 1-0 lead.
Ishan was quite impressive after a below-par IPL 2022 as he belted 11 fours and three sixes during his entertaining knock. When asked about the prospect of him losing his place in the eleven once senior members return to the fold, the 23-year-old replied, “They are world class players. I won’t ask for my spot when they are there. My job is to give my best in the practice session. Whenever I get the opportunity, I have to prove myself and do well for the team.. So I focus on my process and what I have to do.”
“They have scored so many runs for our country, I cannot ask them to drop themselves and make me play in the first place. I have to keep doing my thing, it’s up to the selectors and the coaches whatever they think, but my job is to give my best whenever I get my chance.” he added.
While India batters did give a solid account in the absence of several first-choice stars, bowlers struggled a bit, especially in the death overs where they leaked plenty of runs. However, Ishan didn’t point fingers at the bowlers and instead said the team needs to look at all the mistakes they committed.
“We need to address what mistakes we did with the bowling department or if it’s the fielding department, but it’s never any one player who, you know, makes us lose the match. So we’ll figure out everything as a team,” he explained.
