Colombo, February 15 Ishan Kishan said on Sunday that his improved performance on the off-side was behind his match-winning effort against arch-rivals Pakistan in the T20 World Cup.
Kishan's 77 off 40 balls on a difficult pitch made the difference as India closed out a comfortable 61-run victory over the opposition. It seemed as though he was batting on a different surface.
Kishan, who has been in sizzling form since his return to the Indian team, was pleased with his performance in a "special" game. He usually gets plenty of runs on the leg side, but on Sunday, his off-side play was also effective.
"I think the pitch wasn't that easy at the beginning. You just have to believe and focus on your strengths. I wanted to make them run as many runs as possible to my side. I worked a lot on my off-side play.
"I was just trying to keep it simple. I had in mind that we needed to score 160-170 runs, and that would be a good total for us. India versus Pakistan is always a special game, not just for us but for our country as well.
"Winning this game against Pakistan will give us a lot of confidence, and we will look to maintain the momentum," said Kishan.
The win is for India, Ishan Kishan batted out of the box: Surya
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India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised Kishan for his sublime effort on a tricky pitch. He also rated India's 175 for seven as a very good total, considering the surface.
"I think this (win) is for India. We played the same brand of cricket that we wanted to play. Batting first was the better option on this wicket. Ishan came up with something special.
"After 0/1, someone had to take responsibility, and he did it amazingly. We felt that the total was 15 runs above par. 155 could have been a tight game. It was great to see everyone contributing with the ball. We'll go back, have a good time together as a team, and then think about the other games when we travel to Ahmedabad," said Suryakumar.
Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha said that the spinners' performance was not up to the mark.
"Our spinners had an off day. There were some execution issues. We believe in our spinners, and they have done well in the last six months. We lost too many wickets in the powerplay while batting. In the first innings, the pitch was tricky, and the ball was also gripping. There were execution issues with the ball as well. The pitch played better in the second innings than it did in the first," said Agha.
Pakistan now find themselves in a must-win situation against Namibia to qualify for the Super 8s.
"In these kinds of games, emotions are always high. You have to deal with it. I have played enough games like that. I have a game in two days, and I need to look forward to that. We need to win that game and qualify for the Super Eights. Then it will be a new tournament again," said Agha.
