Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 23 : Redemption in sport does not come easy. When it does, it makes for a very memorable tale and is told for ages to come. Suddenly, a person basking in the glory of their success finds every previously faced setback and hurdle worth it.
Ishan Kishan's redemption came in Orange colours, as the southpaw once left without a central contract by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), adopted to Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)'s fiery, high-scoring and go-hard-from-ball-one brand of cricket the very minute he took his batting stance. When his commitment to the domestic scene was questioned as he sat out, Kishan went through the rigours of domestic cricket, scored centuries across all formats and has now delivered at the highest level of T20 cricket, the IPL.
During the practice matches, Kishan passed the 'vibe check' as he launched deliveries into the skies with the disdain of a cricketer on a mission to get what is truly his.
In front of a packed Uppal Stadium, Kishan walked out to bat at number three, with the pressure of following what Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma had just unleashed in their 45-run opening stand. After playing a dot ball and soaking in the atmosphere, Kishan started his hammering with two fours against Maheesh Theekshana's spin.
Kishan looked like an SRH player to the tee despite having featured for Mumbai Indians (MI) for seven seasons and being one of their marquee players. Even the searing pace of Jofra Archer did not intimidate the man known as the 'Pocket Dynamo' as he belted him for three sixes, one over the keeper's head, one over cover and the other over deep cover, reaching his half-century in 25 balls. Kishan contributed heavily to Archer's wicketless run of 76 runs and 24 balls, the worst-ever outing in IPL by a bowler.
SRH marched ahead with Orange flags, cheers acting as their stimulants, starting from where they had left last season. Kishan found power in his new Orange suit, taking down Sandeep Sharma, Tushar Deshpande and Theekshana. In the 19th over, Kishan entered the 90s with two successive sixes against Sandeep, highlighting his positive approach despite approaching a maiden IPL ton. A double on the final ball of the over and Kishan jumped around and roared with immense joy and relief coloring his face. He had become the first-ever Indian to have scored a century for SRH. SRH made a match-winning total of 286/6, which proved to be a little too much for a valiant RR, who made 242/6.
The scoreboard read 'maiden IPL century' for Kishan. But in the highly competitive world of Indian cricket, this century would be read like a statement to the selectors, who were initially left to choose between Sanju Samson, Jitesh Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The left-hander has thrown his name into the wicketkeeper-batter battle royal and some great performances could leave him the last man standing.
This century could most likely be the highest point of the grind he has put himself through. Having last played for India against Australia in the T20I series which took place after the World Cup 2023 heartbreak at home, Kishan had a disappointing IPL 2024, with just 320 runs in 14 matches, with a fifty to his name.
He made his return to first-class cricket in the Buchi Babu Trophy, scoring a century for Jharkhand against Madhya Pradesh as captain. As the new domestic season started, Kishan expanded his presence to all formats, playing in the Duleep Trophy (134 runs in two matches), Ranji Trophy (139 runs in three matches), Vijay Hazare Trophy (316 runs in seven matches), Syed Ali Mushtaq Ali Trophy (161 runs in six matches with a fifty), scoring centuries everywhere except SMAT 2024.
Now, Kishan has made up for missing out on a century streak in SMAT with a century in the IPL. As said during his post-innings chat, he has found a lot of backing and freedom in this new team. While receiving his Player of the Match award, Kishan admitted facing nervousness but hailed the team and their captain Pat Cummins and coach Daniel Vettori for giving him confidence.
"The environment is so calm and composed, you know you just have to go in and believe in yourself like what's supposed to be done at that point of time. I just enjoyed my time in the middle. I got a lot of time in between, I was practising very hard and worked on my batting also. Overall, the preparation was very good. I am feeling confident. You can see Abhishek Sharma and Head going in and playing that sort of game. Ultimately, you are No. 3 and you get the confidence. Just go in there and you get enough time to take a few balls because Head is not going to stop, Abhishek is never going to stop. Either you are batting way too early in the innings or you are batting at a point where already there are a lot of runs on the board. It's very difficult to get that sort of a total in each and every game. Like I said, Pat, he knows what is there for the team and the coach is also talking about the same thing - 'you have to go in and enjoy whatever your game-play is. You have to plan accordingly, just play your game and do not be in fear of getting out," he added.
India does not face a dearth of options in T20I cricket and Ishan's ton has added one more option. Will he be able to perform well in subsequent matches and clear his path back to blue colours?