Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batsman and captain Ishan Kishan on Saturday showcased his power-hitting prowess with a 94-ball 173 knock in his team’s Vijay Hazare Trophy opener against Madhya Pradesh. 

The southpaw’s innings, which is his highest A-list score, at Indore’s Holkar Stadium featured 11 sixes and 19 fours. 

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Kishan was one of the star performers in last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL)-winning Mumbai Indians side, finishing as the tournament’s fifth highest scorer with 516 runs at an impressive strike rate of 145.75.

And testament to his big-hitting ability were the 29 sixes he struck, the highest by any player in IPL 2020, three more than second-placed Sanju Samson. 

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The defending IPL champions also reacted to his breathtaking innings, tweeting, “Jharkhand skipper Ishan Kishan has unleashed himself at the #VijayHazareTrophy”.

In the Elite Group B opener, Kishan lost his opening partner Utkarsh Singh (6) early in the innings, which was the only breakthrough for Madhya Pradesh with the new ball. 

Kishan started cautiously, getting to his fifty in 40 deliveries before accelerating, reaching his fourth List A century in just 74 deliveries. 

He then took just 12 more deliveries to bring up his 150 and as he looked set for a double century, he finally perished when he was stumped at 173.