His
form
has
been
a
worrying
factor
for
India
too
as
the
ICC
T20
World
Cup
2021
looms
large.
Kishan
said
a
chat
with
India
and
Royal
Challengers
Bangalore
captain
Virat
Kohli
during
the
IPL
2021
has
been
vastly
beneficial.

His
blistering
half-century
powered
Mumbai
Indians
to
an
easy
eight-wicket
win
over
Rajasthan
Royals.

“It’s
nice
to
be
back
opening
and
getting
runs
for
the
team
and
helping
win
by
a
big
margin.
Feeling
really
good,
was
much
needed
for
our
team
to
get
momentum.
It
was
good
to
field
first,
got
a
good
idea
of
the
surface,”
said
Ishan
Kishan
during
the
postmatch
presentation.

“Our
plan
was
to
play
as
straight
as
possible.
Just
play
in
the
V
was
the
plan
and
the
batsmen
executed
really
well.
I
feel
ups
and
downs
are
a
big
part
of
any
sportsman.
I
was
also
not
in
good
shape,”
he
added.

Rajasthan
Royals
picked
two
wickets
in
the
Powerplay
but
conceded
56
as
Mumbai
Indians
went
all
guns
blazing
in
the
first
six
overs
chasing
91.

Ishan
continued
the
onslaught
and
helped
Mumbai
Indians
chase
down
the
target
within
nine
overs.

Speaking
about
the
support
he
got
during
the
lean
patch,
Ishan
Kishan
said,
“Most
of
the
batters
were
not
getting
runs
like
previous
seasons.
We
had
great
support
staff.
Our
captain…
in
fact
I
had
a
chat
with
Virat
bhai,
Hardik
bhai..
everyone
was
there
to
support
me.

”I
had
a
chat
with
KP
(Pollard)
who
said
you
just
need
to
keep
things
simple,
bat
the
way
you
used
to
do,
just
watch
the
videos
of
what
you
did
in
the
last
season.

”I
watched
a
few
videos
of
my
batting
and
that
gave
me
a
bit
of
confidence.
The
win
against
Rajasthan
Royals
has
got
the
side
back
in
the
playoff
race.
There
is
talk
of
us
wanting
KKR
to
lose
the
next
game
and
us
winning
our
next
game
(smiles),
but
that
is
way
ahead
now.

”We
just
have
to
prepare
for
our
next
game.
Need
to
play
with
the
same
energy
today.
Looking
forward
to
doing
this
again
in
the
next
game,”
said
Kishan.

Rohit
backs
Kishan

Mumbai
Indians
skipper
Rohit
Sharma
said
the
team
wanted
Ishan
Kishan
to
play
his
natural
game
against
Rajasthan
Royals.

“We
had
to
come
here
and
do
what
we
had
to
do,
which
was
to
get
the
two
points.
It
was
a
chance
to
improve
our
run
rate
as
well.
We
got
off
to
a
flier,
and
we
said
there
is
a
chance
for
us
to
up
the
run
rate,”
said
Rohit
during
the
post-match
presentation.

“It
was
the
perfect
game
for
us
to
do
that.
Kishan
is
playing
after
a
couple
of
games,
so
we
wanted
him
to
take
his
time.
I
didn’t
say
anything
to
him
[after
he
played
a
maiden].
All
we
wanted
for
him
was
to
play
his
shots,
which
is
what
he
did,”
he
added.

The
win
against
Rajasthan
Royals
has
got
the
side
back
in
the
playoff
race.
Rohit
said
Mumbai
Indians
know
what
the
team
has
to
do
against
Sunrisers
Hyderabad
(SRH)
on
Friday.

“When
you
are
under
the
radar,
it
is
important
to
do
your
job.
We
have
been
doing
well
and
preparing
well.
All
the
bowlers
came
together
and
used
the
conditions
well.
All
eight
teams
are
capable
of
beating
each
other.
But
the
good
thing
is
that
KKR
play
before
us,
so
we
know
what
to
do,”
Rohit
signed
off.

Coulter-Nile
happy
for
Kishan

After
registering
a
comprehensive
eight-wicket
win
over
Rajasthan
Royals
in
the
ongoing
Indian
Premier
League
(IPL
2021),
Mumbai
Indians’ pacer
Nathan
Coulter-Nile
said
that
it
was
just
a
matter
of
time
before
wicketkeeper-batter
Ishan
Kishan
got
among
the
runs.

Kishan
played
an
unbeaten
knock
of
50
runs
off
just
25
balls
with
the
help
of
five
4s
and
three
6s
to
help
Mumbai
Indians
defeat
Rajasthan
Royals
by
eight
wickets
with
70
balls
to
spare.

“I
think
it
is
good
to
have
anyone
among
runs.
It
was
really
good
for
Ishan
to
come
in
especially
after
missing
a
couple
of
games
to
perform
really
well
on
a
wicket
like
this,
this
really
shows
the
quality
we
have
on
our
bench.

”Really
happy
to
see
him
score
runs,
he
was
smashing
it
around
in
the
pre-season,
it
was
a
matter
of
time
he
got
runs,” said
Coulter-Nile
during
a
virtual
post-match
press
conference.

“I
think
opening
the
batting
is
a
logical
place
for
Ishan
to
bat.
He
likes
to
play
his
shots,
so
I
think
he
was
slated
to
bat
in
the
top-order
once
Quinton
de
Kock
went
out.
I
do
not
know
whether
there
was
a
chance
of
him
batting
in
the
middle-order,”
he
added.

Earlier,
Coulter-Nile
returned
with
figures
of
4-14
as
Rajasthan
Royals
was
restricted
to
90/9
in
the
allotted
20
overs.

Jimmy
Neesham
also
took
three
wickets
as
no
Rajasthan
batter
was
able
to
stay
at
the
crease
for
a
long
haul.

“We
all
have
to
bowl
well
for
someone
else
to
be
successful.
We
have
Trent
Boult
and
Jasprit
Bumrah
bowling
well.
James
Neesham
bowled
well
against
Rajasthan
Royals,
everyone
who
comes
in
is
responsible
for
keeping
the
pressure
on.

So,
I
was
lucky
that
pressure
was
applied
when
I
came
on
and
I
got
the
wickets,
it
could
be
anyone
else
in
the
next
game.
We
have
been
really
good,
hopefully,
we
can
keep
the
trend
going,” said
Coulter-Nile.

“I
think
it
is
a
part
of
the
IPL.
If
you
look
at
any
other
side,
all
of
them
have
quality
players
sitting
on
the
bench.
Even
us,
we
had
Quinton
de
Kock
sitting
on
the
bench,
Chris
Lynn
not
even
at
the
ground.
The
quality
on
the
bench
is
high,
when
you
are
training,
you
always
sort
of
testing
yourself
in
the
conditions,”
he
added.