Though we lost two wickets early, my intent was very clear: Kishan

After his unbeaten 113 (50b, 10×4, 8×6) helped his team chase down 183 against Tripura in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy here on Sunday, Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan said he chose to bat with intent even after losing two early wickets.

“Though we lost two wickets early, my intent was very clear: if the ball is there (in my slot), I’ll just go for it,” he said.

Ishan, now carrying a markedly mature air about him, said he is “a very spiritual person” and that it helps him with his cricket. The 27-year-old even has a spiritual saint’s face tattooed on his right arm. “I’m more of a believer now. As you grow up, you know the value of things. You know the importance of everything. You understand there’s more to life than cricket. So, it keeps you calm in any situation – whether you score runs or not.”

Talking about the SRH batting philosophy and how he and his teammate Abhishek Sharma easily fit into it, he said: “I love to hit, so I’m very happy with what they plan. Credit goes to the coaches. They have given us so much freedom. So, players don’t worry about their wicket (falling). They just want to watch the ball and score as many runs as they can. And I think if there is any batter who could score like that, it is Abhishek at this point. He is someone who works hard as well. Not just a lot of hours (of practice), but (puts in) a lot of thought behind it, So, it makes sense when he scores such big runs.”