WATCH: Ishan Kishan hits two sixes and a four off Sunil Narine's first over; powers MI to win against KKR
Ishan Kishan was in the mood against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) today. He took on the bowlers straightaway, hitting some cracking shots in what was his maiden fifty of the season. Kishan even took on the best KKR bowler, Sunil Narine, in his very first over and eventually propelled the five-time champions to their second consecutive win in IPL 2023.
Sunil Narine, who has a good record against Mumbai Indians, was taken apart by the openers Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan. The off-spinner conceded as many as 22 runs in his opening over, which included two massive sixes by the pocket-dynamite Ishan Kishan.
Ishan Kishan hits two giant sixes in Sunil Narine’s first over
Ishan Kishan was off to the best possible score after a string of below-par outings in the tournament earlier. Kishan had a clear mindset; to play fearless cricket, irrespective of the bowler he was facing. And when Kishan does that, the result often includes high-quality fireworks.
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Sunil Narine didn’t know what was going to hit him. After defending Narine’s first ball watchfully, Ishan Kishan showed his power hitting.
Sunil Narine bowled a full-length delivery on the off-stump line, on which Ishan Kishan jumped out to thump it over the deep midwicket region. The footwork on that ball was perfect, and the power was as brute as it could get.
The plan was lucid there. Ishan didn’t want Narine to settle in and do his thing. No wonder he attacked the Caribbean bowler despite him being a negative matchup.
The southpaw wasn’t in the mood to stop here. After playing a dot ball again, Kishan slog-swept another full-length delivery into the stands in the same region. This six was another shot where Kishan flexed his muscles.
The 24-year-old then hit a flat-batted boundary again over the deep midwicket area to take 22 runs from Sunil Narine’s first over of the game. 22 were the second-most conceded by Narine in an IPL over after 23 runs against Punjab Kings in 2013.
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It’s never easy to hit Narine for even a single boundary, let alone hitting three in the four balls. But when Kishan is in full flow, no bowler is spared from his wrath. In all, Ishan Kishan amassed 58 runs in 25 balls, with the help of five boundaries and as many sixes.