Kamal Ghorui
Ishan Kishan reached two career milestones during the fifth and final T20I of the series against New Zealand, completing 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals and 2,000 international runs for India.Kishan scored his maiden T20I century in the match, bringing it up in 42 balls and finishing on 103 off 43 deliveries, with six fours and 10 sixes. He scored at a strike rate of 239.53. The innings came amid a strong run of form following his stint as captain of Jharkhand in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he led the side to the title.In the ongoing series, which marked his return to the Indian team, Kishan finished as India’s second-highest run-getter. He scored 215 runs in four innings at an average of 53.75 and a strike rate of over 231, including one century and one fifty, and now it would be hard for India to not open with him when they face the USA in their first match of the T20 World Cup on February 7.Across 36 T20Is, Kishan has now scored 1,011 runs at an average of 28.88 and a strike rate of 137.92, with one century and seven fifties. In international cricket overall, he has played 65 matches and scored 2,022 runs in 63 innings at an average of 34.86, with two centuries and 15 fifties. His highest international score remains 210.Kishan has featured in 27 ODIs for India, scoring 933 runs in 24 innings at an average of 42.40 and a strike rate of over 102. He has one century and seven fifties in the format. His 210 against Bangladesh in 2022 remains the fastest double century in ODI history, achieved in 126 balls. He has also played two Tests, scoring 78 runs in three innings, including one fifty.Kishan’s hundred against New Zealand is the fifth fastest by an Indian in T20 Internationals. Rohit Sharma continues to hold the Indian record with a 35-ball century against Sri Lanka in 2017. Kishan’s innings is also the fastest T20I century scored against New Zealand.The knock was Kishan’s seventh century in T20 cricket. Two of those hundreds came during the 2025–26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he topped the run charts with 517 runs in 10 innings, including two fifties, at a strike rate of over 197.In the match, India won the toss and elected to bat. Sanju Samson was dismissed for a single-digit score, while Abhishek Sharma made 30 off 16 balls, hitting four fours and two sixes, as India slipped to 48 for 2. Kishan then added 137 runs for the third wicket with captain Suryakumar Yadav, who scored 63 off 30 balls with four fours and six sixes.Hardik Pandya later contributed 42 off 17 balls, including one four and four sixes, as India finished on 271 for 5 in 20 overs.For New Zealand, Lockie Ferguson returned figures of 2 for 41. Jacob Duffy picked up 1 for 53, while Kyle Jamieson and Mitchell Santner conceded 59 and 60 runs respectively for one wicket each.India defeated New Zealand by 46 runs to win five-match T20I series 4-1 in Thiruvananthapuram.
