India defeated South Africa convincingly by 7 wickets in the 2nd ODI of the 3-match series. Chasing a target of 279, Team India lost the wicket of Skipper Shikhar Dhawan in the 3rd over and Shubman Gill also lost his wicket in the 9th over of the Indian innings.
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Ishan Kishan who came at number 3 was joined by Shreyas Iyer after Shubman Gill's wicket and the duo started to take on the South African bowlers from the word go. Shreyas Iyer kept rotating the strike and smashed bad deliveries for the boundaries whereas Ishan Kishan was mostly looking to clear the rope instead of taking singles.
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The duo shared a partnership of 161 runs in 155 deliveries when Ishan Kishan got out while going for a six and missed his maiden ODI century by 7 runs. Fans hailed the knock played by Ishan Kishan but there were a few who also suggested the Indian left-handed batsman to take more singles instead of hitting big sixes.
But Ishan Kishan thinks otherwise and he is not convinced by strike rotation tactics.
Kishan, who played a match-winning knock of 93 (84) and fell short of his maiden ODI ton, said that he is not the kind of player who relies on rotating the strike.
READ: IND v SA, 2nd ODI: Was looking to play according to the merit of the ball, says Ishan Kishan on his innings of 93
The wicketkeeper batter who hit seven sixes in his inning said that if a batter can hit sixes at will, why he should be bothered about rotating the strike?
"Some players have the strength to rotate the strike, my strength is to hit sixes. I hit sixes effortlessly and not many can do that. If I do the job by hitting sixes, there's no need to think about rotating the strike much," Kishan was quoted saying at the post-match media interaction by PTI.
"If your strength is hitting sixes then go for it, what's the need of rotating the strike just for the sake of it? But yes, there will be a time when rotating the strike would be key with wickets falling at the other end," Kishan said. "Obviously rotation is very important. Seven runs, I could have taken singles and gone for the century but I never go into a zone where I've to play for myself. If I think of my individual score, when representing my country, then I'm letting down the fans."
Nevertheless, Kishan played a gem of a knock and helped India beat South Africa by seven wickets and level the three-match series 1-1. Now, the two teams will lock horns in the series decider at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on 11 October.
