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Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan in action. (Photo credits: Faheem Hussain / CREIMAS for BCCI)
The eyes told the story. Joy gleamed from Ishan Kishan’s when he completed his half-century, capping off a remarkable comeback from the cold, days spent waddling in uncertainty. Relief flickered in Suryakumar Yadav’s when he secured his first half-century in 23 innings, ending incessant criticism that has carried into the New Year. Together, they had sewn 122 thrilling runs to make a potentially steep trek resemble a strain-free stroll. The target of 209 was overhauled in a mere 15.2 overs, wielding authority that makes India a ferocious group in their World Cup defence, starting next month.
The captain’s return to form and Ishan’s revival could not have been better timed, as the marquee tournament is exactly a fortnight away. It could not have arrived at a testier juncture either, with India uncharacteristically plummeting to 6 for 2 in 1.1 overs. The early jolts, those of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma with just six runs on the board, hauled India out of their comfort zone. Accustomed to turbocharged starts from Abhishek, India had to chalk up new plans to arrest the damage as well as sustain the required tempo. It was only the second duck in his 34 innings career so far, and just the second time he had failed to register a double-digit score since January last year.
But India has such dizzying depth and a spread of match-winners till lower down the order that they did not unravel. By the end of the powerplay, India had not just recovered but were bossing at 75 for 2. Comeback hopes of New Zealand melted in Raipur’s dewy web.
Ishan Kishan in action. (Faheem Hussain / CREIMAS for BCCI)
Ishan led the retort with a counterattacking knock (76 off 32) that left the audience in as much shock as awe. Steeled by setbacks, he didn’t wither when runs were hard to come by, when shots did not race off his blade. Mitchell Santner’s first over, the fifth of India’s chase, summed up his bouncebackability. He could not sniff a run off the first three balls. His bat flew out of his palms, when he tried to heave-ho a length ball over square leg. He solemnly collected his bat, and clumped three fours. The first was a good-old shovel through mid-wicket. The timing was awry, but it still found the fence, through the greasy palms of Zak Foulkes at deep mid-wicket. The second was pure timing, as he slapped a low full toss over backward square leg. Santner’s response was a hard length ball outside the off-stump, which he furiously cut. The power was immense, as was the speed of his hands.
Power and timing are two sides of the Ishan coin. The chhota dynamite can explode, but he could harness pace and coax fours too. Force, not brute strength but controlled power, was the predominant theme. He was brutal on spinners, both Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner exhausted all their acquired wisdom, but to little effect. To arrest his momentum, Matt Henry was recommissioned. Ishan pummelled him for a six and two fours in an irresistible carnage.
Throughout the innings, he rarely smiled. But as India approached the target, the broadcasters shot him grinning near the boundary ropes with Rinku Singh and Shreyas Iyer. He could afford a smile, finally.
His remarkable counterpunches offered wiggle room for Suryakumar to get his eye in and tee off. He was 15 off 12, before Foulkes strode in, like an unsuspecting lamb to a slaughterhouse. In a nod to his peak years, he plundered 25 runs of India’s ninth over (a hapless Foulkes, whose three overs cost him 67 runs). A signature Suruyakumar shuffle-and-hook six was the most throwback-est of them all. The ramps and nudges glided off his sweet-spot, but an on-drive to tick off his knock was as gorgeous.
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Suryakumar Yadav in action. (Picture credits: Faheem Hussain / CREIMAS for BCCI)
The acceleration was both smooth and riveting. His last 25 balls yielded him 67 in an astonishing assault, aided by the sloppiest New Zealand had fielded in living memory. Surya was dropped once. But largely, he has rediscovered his most devastating touch, or there or thereabouts. Throughout his lean patch, he insisted that it was a happenstance of being out of runs than out for touch. He repeated the same during the presentation ceremony. “I’ve been batting well in the nets,” the Indian captain said.
It has not always been the case last season. His reactions seemed to have dawdled against the pacemen, some critics carped that he had become predictable. But on Friday, he dispelled all the doubts. The hands regained their buzz, the feet reclaimed their rhythms. He was beautifully unconstrained. Shots screamed off the bat’s meatiest part, always making a sonorous pock sound, however violently Surya was hitting it, as if he was simply helping the ball to wherever it was meant to go. He exuded a clean, cold control, and shepherded the chase after Ishan’s departure. And their eyes when they reached their milestones captured the meaning of their Friday fury.
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