Ishan Kishan joins elite club with 2,000 T20I runs against New Zealand

Ishan Kishan scored 61 off 32 balls in the fifth T20I against New Zealand in Hamilton to complete 2,000 T20I runs. He became the third-fastest Indian to reach the milestone by balls faced, behind Abhishek Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav ever

Hamilton: India wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan completed 2,000 runs in T20I cricket during the fifth match against New Zealand at Seddon Park here on Sunday.

Kishan, who had a quiet series so far and missed a couple of games due to injury, hit an impressive 61 off 32 balls to reach the milestone. He also became the third-fastest Indian to complete 2,000 runs in the shortest international format in terms of balls faced.

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The left-handed batter completed his 2,000 T20I runs in 1,345 balls. Abhishek Sharma holds the Indian record, having reached the milestone in 1,024 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav is second with 1,164 deliveries.

Coming into the fifth match, Kishan had scores of 1 and 0 in the first and fourth T20Is he played and missed the middle two matches due to a low-grade right adductor strain. He needed 45 runs to reach the 2,000-run mark and achieved it with a strong showing in the final match of the series.

He reached the milestone when he hit Mitchell Santner for a helicopter-shot four towards mid-wicket before slamming a six to complete his 14th T20I fifty. Kishan is the third-fastest Indian to complete 2,000 T20I runs, behind Abhishek Sharma and former T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, India’s own 360-degree star.

Kishan’s innings eventually came to an end at 61 off 32 balls when he was dismissed by Blair Tickner. He was caught by Nathan Smith at deep mid-wicket after smashing five sixes and as many fours.

Earlier, India were asked to bat first after New Zealand won the toss for the first time in the series. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Varun Chakravarthy returned to the Indian side, while Mayank Yadav and Axar Patel made way. For New Zealand, Tickner replaced Matthew Fisher.