We all knew it, and now the man of the hour, Ishan Kishan, has said it himself.
Talking to the broadcasters post the 1st innings, where India put on a mammoth 409 on board, Kishan said that he feels blessed to be part of the elite list, but felt that he could have got to 300 as well, had he stayed till the last ball.
"I am blessed to hear my name between such legends. The wicket was too good to bat on. My intent was very clear -- if the ball is there, I'll go for it. I got out with 15 (14.1) overs left. I could have got 300 also," said Kishan.
His record-breaking knock came in the company of Virat Kohli and Kishan credited the star India batter to "calm him down" when he was approaching his maiden century.
"I was batting with Virat bhai, and he was spot on with which bowlers I needed to select [to target].I was on 95 and wanted to bring up the hundred with a six but he calmed me down, saying it was my first hundred, get it in singles as it's your first," he said.
Playing only his 10th ODI, the 24-year-old displayed fearless batting as he shattered Chris Gayle's record of the fastest (138 balls) double century in the format when he took just 126 balls to the milestone. India posted a huge 409 for eight. He was out for 210 in the 36th over of the Indian innings.
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has scored it thrice including his highest ODI score of 264 while Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have scored once each.
Kishan is very close to Suryakumar Yadav, who has told him to bat before the start of the game.
Also Read: Legends, experts, fans go wild as Ishan Kishan smashes double hundred vs Bangladesh
"I had a chat with Surya bhai - he said when you bat before the game, you see the ball well. I didn't take too much pressure on myself. Just wanted to make use of the opportunity," Kishan said.
With Dhawan continuing with limited returns in the format, Ishan Kishan might just have eclipsed Shubman Gill to be the favourite to replace Shikhar Dhawan, if it comes to that.
(Inputs PTI)
