Great feeling to help team win: Indian star Ishan Kishan

Ishan Kishan during his 81 off 44 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare on Saturday. PICS/AFP, BCCI

Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan expressed satisfaction following his match-winning knock of 81 against Zimbabwe in the second T20I, adding that building partnerships was crucial on a surface offering variable bounce.

Kishan was named Player of the Match for his explosive 44-ball 81, which propelled India to a massive 219-5 before the bowlers wrapped up a comfortable 90-run victory to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

"Obviously, when you score runs for your team and help them post a good total and finish on the winning side, it's always a great feeling to be in that situation. But, yeah, I'm really happy with the overall team performance. I think we did very well today," Kishan said.

Asked about his thoughts on the pitch, Kishan said, "To be very honest, I didn't feel this was the kind of wicket where you could just walk in and score 200-plus runs. We felt anything around 180 would be a good total because there was variable bounce on a few deliveries.

"So we knew partnerships were going to be very important. But as a No. 3 batter, once you're set, you want to make it count and score big runs so that your team gets to a total like the 220-odd we managed today," he added.

Four
No of series wins for India against Zimbabwe in five bilateral T20I series - the two-match series in 2015 ended in a 1-1 tie

Nine
No of 200-plus totals by India in T20Is in 2026 - joint-most in a calendar year, equalling their own all-time record set in 2024

52
Total number of 200-plus totals by India in T20Is - the most by any team, well ahead of second-placed South Africa (29)

94
No of runs added by Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma - the highest fourth-wicket partnership in an India vs Zimbabwe T20I

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