Ishan Kishan’s 80* off 46, with five sixes, steered India to 169/7 and a 170‑run target against Sri Lanka in the Asian Games semi‑final at Nisshin. The left‑hander never lost his cool after the 3rd wicket fell, and his blistering 46‑ball cameo turned the match for the Indians.
The innings started bright with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashing 38 off 21, but wickets began to tumble: Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson each fell for seven, and Sooryavanshi was out next. By the 8th over, India was 4‑3, and the pressure was mounting.
Kishan walked in with the score at 55/3 and the bowlers digging deep. He calmly paced the early overs, then shifted gears at the 12th over, firing back‑to‑back sixes in the 14th and 16th. His 5‑ball burst of sixes in the 18th over pushed the score to 120/3, giving India a new momentum.
That surge broke Manish Pandey’s 79* record from 2018, making Kishan the highest‑scoring Indian at No.5 or lower in a T20I. The record was set in a high‑stakes match, adding weight to his already impressive debut at the Asian Games.
With the target set, Sri Lanka’s bowlers tried to claw back, but Kishan’s partnership with Shreyas Iyer kept India in control. India’s total of 169/7 in 20 overs left Sri Lanka chasing 170, a target they could not reach in the allotted overs.
India walks into the final, eyes on the gold. The next challenge: a face‑off with Pakistan, where the pressure will be even higher.