Ishan Kishan, on Thursday (February 12), played a stunning game during the game between India and Namibia in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The southpaw scored a blazing fifty to give India an explosive start with the bat.
With Abhishek Sharma sidelined, the onus was on Ishan Kishan to lead the charge with the bat. Sanju Samson played a fine cameo at the top, hitting three sixes and a four inside the first two overs but did not last long. He departed for 22 runs on the last ball of the second over.
On the other hand, Ishan Kishan got into his grooved in the third over when he hit JJ Smit for two fours. He hit two more fours in the following two overs before going all out in the sixth over against Smit.
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Ishan Kishan blows away JJ Smit:
The final over of the powerplay began with Smit bowling a dot ball before Ishan Kishan hit him for four sixes in a row. On the final ball of the over, he hit a four to complete his fifty off just 20 balls. He was not done yet as he hit a six and four against Max Heingo too. Overall, he hit seven boundaries in a row.
Ishan Kishan creates history:
Ishan Kishan’s impressive knock finally came to an end in the eighth over when he was sent back by Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus. It was a flatter delivery from Erasmus and Kishan hit the ball straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket.
The India opener departed after scoring 61 runs off just 24 balls with the help of four sixes and five fours. Before departing, Kishan also created history by becoming the first-ever Indian wicketkeeper to hit a half-century in the T20 World Cup. He now also holds the record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup.
FIRST INDIAN WK BATTER TO SCORE A FIFTY IN T20 WC HISTORY.
– ITS ISHAN KISHAN 😍 pic.twitter.com/F87zcoB23X
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 12, 2026
India on course to post a big total:
Thanks to Ishan Kishan’s explosive knock, India are looking set to post a huge total. At the end of the 13th over, the Men in Blue were on 134/4. With six overs still remaining, the hosts will be eyeing a 200-plus total.
After Kishan’s dismissal, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma departed as well. At the time of writing this report, Shivam Dube and Hardik Pandya were in the middle and the onus will be on them to guide the team to a big total.
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