IND vs SA 2022-23, Ranchi ODI: 'My strength is to hit sixes' - Ishan Kishan

Flashy Indian batter Ishan Kishan, who missed out on his maiden international ton by seven runs, discerns that there is no need to rotate the strike when one can "hit sixes effortlessly" as he does. The 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter, who plays as an expert batter at number three in the One-Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, punched an 84-ball 93, setting up India's 279-run pursuit before Shreyas Iyer finalised the courtesies with an unbeaten 113 off 111.

"Some players have the strength to rotate the strike. My strength is to hit sixes. I hit sixes effortlessly, and not many can do that. If I do the job by hitting sixes, there's no need to think about rotating the strike much," Kishan voiced during the post-match presser.

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"If your strength is hitting sixes, then go for it. What's the need to rotate the strike just for the sake of it? But, there will be a time when rotating the strike would be key, with wickets falling at the other end. Rotation is critical. I could have taken seven runs in singles and gone for the century, but I never go into a zone where I've to play for myself. When representing my country, I'm letting down the fans if I think of my score," added Kishan.

Ishan also missed a ton in IPL 2020 when the Mumbai Indians (MI) opener was dismissed for 99 in its chase of 202 against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). "We needed five off two balls, and I got out for 99 in the IPL. If I thought about rotating the strike, it would have been difficult to win," he explained.

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"It's disappointing to miss a hundred, but I think 93 was a big contribution to the team. It was imperative to give the momentum to the team and keep the team in the zone, so there's less pressure on the next batters," counted Kishan. Kishan, featured in the last edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was ignored for the upcoming edition in Australia on the back of a regular season in IPL 2022.

Kishan admitted that he had some "shortcomings" for which he had to miss the T20WC in Australia. "It feels bad when you are not part of the side for a big tournament like the World Cup. But, I think I"ve some shortcomings that selectors would have noticed, so it's about improving myself," he answered.

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'Upset about comments that we are a B side'
India returned to square the series 1-1 after its setback in Lucknow, losing the opening ODI by nine runs. With Rohit Sharma and Co already in Australia for the T20WC, Indian fringe players are in action against the South Africans in the three-game ODIs.

"I heard people talking that we are the B-side, we are not so much capable of beating South Africa full strength side. I listened to these comments, and we're upset about it, so we wanted to play our A-game today. We lost the first game, and we wanted to win this badly so that we could give a fight in the next one," defined Kishan.

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Gabbing about his 161-run stand with Iyer, he said: "They had two left-arm spinners, so as a left-hander, it was for me to take chances and put the attack on their bowlers. I've played so many matches here and know the wicket very well. I knew it would slow down in the second innings, but after playing Keshav Maharaj, I knew this wicket did not have much on offer. We just wanted to take our chances before the ball got old."

(With inputs from PTI)