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Ishan Kishan‘s spectacular performance as the opener for Team India has been a major highlight of the series against West Indies. His incredible consistency with the bat earned him the well-deserved award of ‘Player of the Series’ as India dominated West Indies, securing a convincing 200-run victory in the third and final ODI, thereby winning the three-match series 2-1.
Kishan showcased his brilliance in the series decider by smashing his third successive fifty in the ODI series, partnering with Shubman Gill to form an impressive 143-run opening stand. The 25-year-old dynamic knock of 77 runs off just 64 balls, comprising three sixes and eight fours, set the tone for India’s dominant batting display.
Kishan joins MS Dhoni in a remarkable group
Incredibly, this wasn’t the first time the Jharkhand-born cricketer displayed such brilliance on the West Indies tour. He had previously scored a half-century in the second innings of the second Test in Trinidad, making it his fourth consecutive fifty on the tour. His remarkable feat of achieving three successive fifties in the ODI series places him among the elite Indian batters, with only six players having accomplished this milestone before.
Former India opener Kris Srikkanth was the first to achieve this milestone against Sri Lanka in 1982, followed by former India captain MS Dhoni, who accomplished the same feat against Australia in 2019. Prior to Ishan, Shreyas Iyer was the last batter to have smashed three half-centuries in all three fixtures of bilateral ODI series in 2020.
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In the first ODI, while the other batters struggled, the aggressive southpaw showcased his class by scoring a crucial 52 runs. He followed it up with another impressive innings of 55 runs in the second ODI, even though the match ended in a losing cause for India.
Jaydev Unadkat breaks a rare record with his comeback in ODIs
Jaydev Unadkat‘s recent comeback to the India ODI XI has been a remarkable feat, breaking a rare Indian record in the process. After a hiatus of 9 years, 8 months, and 11 days, the 31-year-old returned to play an ODI for India, making it the longest gap for an Indian player to feature in two different ODIs for the national team. This record was previously held by former Indian all-rounder Robin Singh. Robin made his ODI debut on March 11, 1989, and played one more game on March 18, 1989. Subsequently, he got another opportunity to represent India on November 3, 1996, creating a gap of nearly 7 years and 7 months between his two ODI appearances.
Unadkat’s previous ODI appearance for India was on November 11, 2013, also against West Indies at Nehru Stadium in Kochi. Throughout his career, he has played a total of 7 ODI games for India, making his debut in the same year, 2013, against Zimbabwe. In addition to the ODI record, the Porbandar-born also holds the distinction of having the second-longest gap between two Test matches for Team India. Following his Test debut in December 2010 against South Africa, he represented India in Test cricket after an impressive gap of 12 years and 6 days, returning to the red-ball format on December 22, 2022, against Bangladesh.
Speaking of the white-ball series, the focus now shifts to the shortest format of the game, as the five-game T20I series is set to commence on August 3 at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad . With Kishan’s red-hot form and the team’s impressive performance in the ODIs, India will be looking to carry the momentum into the T20I series and aim for a successful campaign against West Indies.
