Priyank Panchal lauds Ishan Kishan as a three-format option for India, citing his explosive batting and skill against spin. Kishan bolstered his case by smashing a 33-ball century for Jharkhand in the Vijay Hazare Trophy against Karnataka.
Priyank Panchal Praises Ishan Kishan
Former cricketer Priyank Panchal has praised Ishan Kishan for his explosive knock and his expansive range of shots. Panchal added that Kishan can defend and attack against spin. "Unsurprising to see Ishan Kishan go all guns blazing in the #VijayHazare Trophy. He is explosive, has an expansive range of shots, and, unlike many Indian batters currently, can both defend and attack against spin proficiently. I consider him to be a three-format option for India," Panchal wrote on X.
Kishan's Record-Breaking Form
Ishan Kishan is knocking on BCCI's doors ahead of India's squad announcement for the New Zealand ODI series after smashing a 33-ball century for Jharkhand against Karnataka in a Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT) 2025-26 match in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Kishan's blistering century is also the second-fastest by an Indian in List A cricket, just one delivery behind Bihar captain Sakibul Gani's record 32-ball century against Arunachal Pradesh, which also happened earlier on Wednesday in Jharkhand. Last week, Kishan earned a recall to the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup, days after leading Jharkhand to its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) title. The left-handed batter hammered 517 runs in the SMAT, including a match-winning century in the final against Haryana.
Vijay Hazare Trophy: Jharkhand vs Karnataka
He finished with 125 runs off just 39 deliveries and struck seven fours and 14 sixes in the game against Karnataka at a strike rate of 320.51.
Jharkhand Posts Mammoth Total
Coming to the match, Karnataka won the toss and opted to field. Jharkhand had a shaky start as opener Utkarsh Singh was removed for just eight runs. Shubh Sharma also departed early as Shreyas Gopal cleaned him up for 15. Shikhar Mohan played a decent innings of 44 before Abhilash Shetty removed him in the 24th over.
From there, Virat Singh and Kumar Kushagra took forward Jharkhand's innings, stitching a partnership of 129 runs for the fourth wicket before Kushagra was removed by Gopal for 63. Singh soon followed him back to the pavilion after making 88 runs in just 68 runs.
Kishan gave Jharkhand the finishing touch to the innings with a 33-ball century, which powered Jharkhand to 412-9 in their 50 overs.
Padikkal Powers Karnataka to Victory
While chasing, Karnataka opener Devdutt Padikkal played a match-winning knock of 147 runs off 118 deliveries, including 10 fours and seven sixes, helping his side chase down the mammoth 413-run target in 47.3 overs. Apart from Padikkal, captain Mayank Agarwal (54 off 34 balls), Karun Nair (29 off 27 balls), Ravichandran Smaran (27 off 21 deliveries), Abhinav Manohar (56* off 32 balls), and Dhruv Prabhakar (40* off 22 deliveries) chipped in crucial runs for Karnataka. (ANI)
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