Ishan Kishan: I was backed well by Rohit Sharma and Mahela Jayawardene

Mumbai's Ishan Kishan celebrates his half century against Kolkata during an T20 2018 tie at the Eden Garden in Kolkata on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

Blame the pounding on the pause. When Ishan Kishan walked in on Wednesday, Mumbai were in a spot of bother at 62-2 against the Kolkata. But, then, it was an opportune moment too.

Kishan, 19, had walked into a Strategic Timeout, and the two and a half minutes proved crucial as skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Mahela Jayawardene deliberated and defined his role in the difficult circumstances. There was time too for words of encouragement to face the tough task.

Rohit Sharma & Jayawardene

"The coach came out and said, 'be yourself, back yourself; we need some good hits today'. Rohit bhaiya said, 'you know you can hit well so just watch the ball and stay there'. So, I had to look at the ball till the last moment and keep going," he said, pointing out that the freedom to express himself lent wings to the fearlessness. "It's always good for a youngster to bat up the order, and it's the best part when your skipper and the franchise backs you with a, 'go, just play your game,' added the southpaw, who came in at No. 4 and changed the course of the match with a 21-ball 62. It had six sixes, five of them against Team India spinner Kuldeep Yadav.

"Kuldeep is outgoing [for me] but he loves to bowl the googly to me. My target was that if the ball came in my arc, I'll hit it out of the park," he smiled. A helicopter shot that soared to a six was a hint from the hinterland he shares with MS Dhoni. "He helps me a lot. Whenever I meet him, I get a lot of tips. He tells me to take time, how to read the situation and build an innings," Kishan added when asked about the influence of his Jharkhand teammate in his career.

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