Ishan Kishan’s stunning comeback tale turned even more stunning on Saturday night.

From two years of wilderness to the World Cup squad, it has been a remarkable journey for the man from Jharkhand. Now, the team management may find it difficult to keep him out of the XI in the T20I World Cup starting on February 7.

Kishan did no harm to his prospects in India’s last match before the big event. He scored a sensational maiden T20I hundred in the fifth match of the series against New Zealand as the Men in Blue posted 271 for five and scripted a 46-run win at the Greenfield Stadium.

Kishan (103, 43b, 6×4, 10×6) was brilliant in front of a near-capacity crowd, which may have come more to watch another Indian wicketkeeper-batter. But, local lad Sanju Samson failed yet again.

Samson had to trudge back to the dressing room in the third over; his thick outside edge off Lockie Ferguson found Bevon Jacobs at deep backward point. So, a disappointing series came to a dismal end for the opener who was, interestingly, playing his first ever international match at home, after debuting for India way back in 2015.

Sanju’s partner Abhishek Sharma (30, 16b, 4×4, 2×6), who lofted a glorious drive over the extra cover fence against Jacob Duffy in the first over, was shaping up nicely when he was cleaned up by Ferguson, the quick who was playing hist first game for New Zealand in well over a year.

But, Suryakumar Yadav joined Kishan and initially chose to watch the exceptional hitting from the latter at the other end. The skipper then changed gears at the right time to score his third fifty (63, 30b, 4×4, 6×6), of the series, and his third-wicket partnership with Kishan yielded 137 off just 57 balls.

Kishan completed his hundred off 42 balls, slog-sweeping Mitchell Santner over deep-midwicket. It was an astonishing display of strokemaking, playing all around the wicket.

After the break, Kishan traded his batting gloves with the keeping ones (a sign ahead of the World Cup maybe?). The Kiwis needed something special at the top of order, and the hard-hitting Finn Allen, who joined the squad only a couple of days ago, provided that with a blistering 80 (38b, 8×4, 6×6) and he added 100 for the second wicket with Rachin Ravindra.

He became the first of Axar Patel’s three victims. Arshdeep Singh took five. And India had just the perfect night.