Indian wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan played probably the knock of his career as he smashed his fourth consecutive fifty in ODIs, one that his side needed the most against Pakistan in their opening game of Asia Cup 2023 in Kandy on Saturday, September 2. Kishan, who was playing at No. 5 for the first time in ODIs, came in at 48/3 when India had lost three wickets inside the powerplay and he timed his innings beautifully. There were reservations about Kishan playing in the middle order as he has batted only as an opener and at No. 3 and 4 in the format.
India were three wickets down but Kishan didn't let the team suffer as he maintained the tempo. Shubman Gill's struggle soon came to an end and Kishan found an able partner in Hardik Pandya. Both balanced caution with aggression as they went on to stitch a record partnership of 138 runs for the fifth wicket.
Kishan slammed his 7th ODI fifty and this was his fourth consecutive fifty in ODIs. Kishan equalled the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajinkya Rahane and Sourav Ganmguly by hitting the fourth consecutive fifty in ODIs.
Most consecutive fifty-plus scores by Indian players in ODIs
5 - Sachin Tendulkar (November 1994)
5 - Rahul Dravid (December 2004-April 2005)
5 - Virat Kohli (Feb-March 2012)
5 - Virat Kohli (July-October 2013)
5 - Ajinkya Rahane (Sept 2017-Feb 2018)
5 - Rohit Sharma (March-June 2019)
5 - Virat Kohli (June 2019)
4 - Navjot Singh Sidhu (October 1987)
4 - Mohammed Azharuddin (April-July 1990)
4 - Mohammed Azharuddin (July-November 1993)
4 - Sachin Tendulkar (Feb-March 1996)
4 - Sourav Ganguly (Jan-March 2002)
4 - Sachin Tendulkar (Feb-March 2003)
4 - Virat Kohli (Oct-December 2010)
4 - MS Dhoni (Sept-Oct 2011)
4 - Suresh Raina (January 2013)
4 - Virat Kohli (January 2016)
4 - Ajinkya Rahane (June-July 2017)
4 - Virat Kohli (July-October 2018)
4 - Shreyas Iyer (August-December 2019)
4 - Virat Kohli (November 2020-March 2021)
4 - Ishan Kishan (July-September 2023)
Kishan got out after scoring an 81-ball 82 but ensured that his team got into a strong position.
