India opener Ishan Kishan continued his red-hot form in T20Is on Sunday. Playing the IND vs PAK game in Colombo, the left-hander struck a half-century in style at the R Premadasa Stadium. It was Kishan's second half-century of the tournament, and it came at a time when the Men in Blue needed it the most in the T20 World Cup 2026.
India lost Abhishek Sharma for a duck but that had no bearing on Ishan Kishan's approach with the bat. With huge boundaries at the R Premadasa, it was crucial that India get off to a great start and use the gaps to their effect. Ishan did absolutely that much to the delight of Indian cricket fans.
He signalled his intentions with a 6 off the first ball he faced off Shaheen Afridi. With Tilak Varma playing anchor, the onus continued to be on Kishan to be the aggressor. He played his role to perfection taking the attack to the Pakistan spinners.
Kishan scored 42 runs inside the powerplay with India managing 52. 42 runs by Ishan Kishan is the most by a batter in the Powerplay in Ind-Pak T20Is surpassing 35 by Shubman Gill in Dubai in Asia Cup 2025.
The left-hander eventually managed a breath-taking 77 off just 40 balls at the R Premadasa Stadium. Kishan struck 10 fours and 3 sixes in his stay at the crease. The impact of Ishan's innings can be illustrated by pointing to India's score at the time of his wicket. The Men in Blue put 88 on the board when the left-hander was dismissed having scored 77 off those.
Kishan is now second in the list of leading run-getters for the tournament. He is currently only behind Tim Seifert for most runs in ICC T20 World Cup 2026. His 77 was the 4th highest score in IND vs PAK T20 matches, behind Virat Kohli and Mohammed Rizwan.
