Flying kiss was for loved ones, century dedicated to family and fans: Ishan Kishan

Ishan says they were the ones who have been supporting me throughout those middle phases when I was just doing my hard work

Hyderabad: Ishan Kishan, who scored a match-winning century for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Rajasthan Royals in its IPL season opener here on Sunday, said that the flying kiss was for the loved ones who were there in the stands and the ton was dedicated to his family members and fans.

“They were the ones who have been supporting me throughout those middle phases when I was just doing my hard work,” Ishan said after the match.

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“Yes, it was a special message for my elder brother Raj Kishan, who was also sitting there. Hopefully, I made him watch a very good innings,” he said with a big smile.

“It was very important for me also to gain confidence out of the kind of starts SRH openers have given, especially last season,” Ishan said. “The captain is so supportive, the coach is right on mark. Well, you have to just go in, enjoy your game, be practical, just if you want to go for the ball, just go for it, so that sort of confidence when you get out of your teammates, or the coach or the captain,” he explained.

“So, I just had fun in the middle and hopefully will get more totals like this,” Ishan said.

On whether he was worried whether he would miss the century, which he eventually got in the 19th over, Ishan said there was a situation when he knew that these guys were bowling slower ones or wide yorkers and choosing the longer boundaries.

“But, you have to just keep yourself in good shape and go for it. It gave me a lot of confidence in the middle. I like to just play smart cricket and play with their minds too,” he said with a big smile.

“I just planned to get all the negative thoughts out of it and think about what lies ahead. I was just doing my hard work, and like I said, to my loved ones,” he said about the ups and downs.

On whether breaching the 300-mark was a target, Ishan said he did get the message during a drinks break. “So, we thought why not go for that record in the first game itself,” he said.

“The best part of SRH is that if the player is someone who likes to go attack from the beginning, they just back you. This doesn’t add up to any pressure in this team,” he said on SRH.

“The message was very clear: if the ball is there, just go for it, have your fun, have your moment. That’s how I think we’re going to play the tournament,” Ishan said.

“I’m just happy about my 100, at whatever stage you get a 100, it’s obviously a very good thing to happen to anyone,” he said.