Captain Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan during their splendid partnership at the second T20 international against New Zealand in Raipur on January 23, 2026 | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
“Ishan is one of the best left-handers I have seen. He is called a small pocket blast in the dressing room. So, I think his batting is very strong. He got out in the last match…But he knows what he can do. He showed it tonight,” all-rounder Shivam Dube told reporters after the match, lavishing praise on Kishan, who is back in the national team after two years.
He also hailed Suryakumar, who posted his first 50-plus score after 23 innings, and said the India skipper showed why he’s the best.
“I was asked about Surya’s form in a press conference not so long ago. That’s when I said that he is the type of player, when he will show his form, the world will know what type of player he is. So, today he showed Suryakumar Yadav, why he is the number one T20 batter.
About his bowling more these days, Dube said “definitely, hard work has been put in. But it is important that the captain and the coach support me. They have backed me a lot.So, as a sixth bowler, whatever I get, two, three or four overs, I will try to bowl according to the situation at that time,” he added.
Kiwi batter Rachin Ravindra gave credit to Kishan and Suryakumar for helping the Men in Blue ace the 209-run chase.
“The way India batted, it seems like 250 would have been a better target, but, I mean, yeah, potentially we lost a couple of wickets in clumps, and that sort of stalled our progress a bit, but I think the way Santner battered the end got us to a time that we thought was par,” Ravindra, who scored a 26-ball 44, said.
“… potentially with the dew sitting in and stuff like that, potentially we need to get 15-20 runs more, but, hey, that’s cricket in this country, and when batting teams get on a roll, it happens quickly, and the momentum’s there for them,” he reckoned.
Published – January 24, 2026 12:08 pm IST
