Ishan Kishan performed brilliantly during the game between India and Namibia in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday (February 12). The left-handed batsman gave India an explosive start with the bat by scoring a explosive half-century.
With Abhishek Sharma sidelined, the onus was on Ishan Kishan to lead with the bat. Sanju Samson played a brilliant cameo at the top, hitting three sixes and a four in the first two overs, but could not last long. He was out after scoring 22 runs on the last ball of the second over.
On the other hand, Ishan Kishan got into form in the third over when he hit two fours off JJ Smit. He hit two more fours in the next two overs before being all out to Smit in the sixth over.
Also read: Abhishek Sharma will not be able to play against Pakistan as Suryakumar Yadav gives worrying update
Ishan Kishan blasts JJ Smit:
The final over of the powerplay started with Smit bowling a dot ball, after which Ishan Kishan hit him for four consecutive sixes. He completed his half-century in just 20 balls by hitting a four on the last ball of the over. He was not done yet and even against Max Hengo he had hit a six and a four. Overall, he hit seven consecutive fours.
Ishan Kishan created history:
Ishan Kishan’s brilliant innings finally ended in the eighth over when Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus sent him back. It was a flat delivery from Erasmus and Kishan edged the ball straight to the fielder at deep mid-wicket.
India’s opening batsman was out after scoring 61 runs in just 24 balls with the help of four sixes and five fours. Before leaving, Kishan also created history by becoming the first Indian wicketkeeper to score a half-century in the T20 World Cup. Now he also holds the record for the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in the T20 World Cup.
First Indian wicketkeeper to score a half-century in T20 WC history.
– This is Ishaan Kishan pic.twitter.com/F87zcoB23X
– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 12 February 2026
India poised to score big:
Thanks to Ishan Kishan’s explosive innings, India looks poised to score a big score. At the end of the 13th over, the Men in Blue’s score was 134/4. There are still six overs left and the hosts will be eyeing a score of over 200.
After Kishan was out, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Verma were also out. At the time of writing this report, Shivam Dubey and Hardik Pandya were in the middle and the responsibility of taking the team to a big score would be on them.
Also read: Afghanistan players boycott PSL 2026 amid T20 World Cup 2026
