WI vs IND: Virat Kohli took the initiative and told I should go in at No.4, says Ishan Kishan

By India Today Sports Desk: Ishan Kishan has revealed that Virat Kohli backed him to go out and play his natural game after scoring his maiden Test fifty against the West Indies on day four of the second Test, coming in at No.4.

Kishan scored a whirlwind maiden Test fifty off just 34 balls on Sunday, demonstrating his aggressive batting style. His innings included two sixes and four fours, contributing significantly to India’s total score of 181 for 2 in their second innings. This half-century marked Kishan’s first in Test cricket, a milestone that he achieved in just 33 balls.

West Indies vs India, 2nd Test Day 4: Report

Kishan’s innings was instrumental in setting a challenging target of 365 runs for the West Indies. At the end of the day’s play, West Indies was at 76/2, still needing 289 runs to win. Number four has been usually the spot where Kohli comes in for the side.

To everyone’s surprise, the star batter decided to give it to Kishan and the young wicketkeeper revealed that Kohli gave his backing to him. As quoted by Cricbuzz, Kishan said that the knock was a special one and Kohli and the team backed him.

Kishan said that Kohli took the initiative and told that the wicketkeeper should go in. The 25-year-old said that it was a good call by the team to promote him up the order.

“Was really special. I knew what the team needed from me. Everyone backed me. Virat backed me and told me go and play your game. Let’s hope we will finish the game tomorrow. It was Virat bhai who took the initiative and told that I should go in. There was a slow left-armer who was bowling. It was a good call for the team. Sometimes you need to take these calls. We had the plan that we will play 10-12 overs after the rain break and score 70-80 runs. We wanted a 370-380 target,” said Kishan.