India's star batter Ishan Kishan treated his fans to a stupendous innings after delighting them with a powerful knock of 93 off 84 balls and backed this up by meeting the fans after the match. Though the 24-year-old future star missed out on a well-deserved century by seven runs, he was quick to meet the fans after the match and even took multiple pictures with them!
Amid the photos, Kishan can be seen carrying a note from a fan meant for Shardul Thakur. Kishan then returns to the dressing room with the note and gives it to Thakur for the all-rounder to show his fans. The same can be seen in a video posted by the BCCI.
In the video, Kishan is heard saying “Aisa nahi hai Ranchi mey bus mujhe pyar milta hai sab ke liye pyar hai idhar (Fans in Ranchi not only love me but there is also love for others as well) as Ranchi happens to be his hometown and his home stadium. Kishan then opened the folded note which read “Shardul Thakur, 54 and a heart”.
The dashing batter narrated that he felt obligated to deliver the message to Shardul due to the sheer determination with which the fan requested him “Jis shiddat se usne bola na please de dijiyega Shardul bhai ko, maine bola lao yaar de doonga aur bol doonga Shardul bhai ko kisi bahut bade tagde fan ne aapko diya hai (The energy with which he requested me to give the note to Shardul, I said, 'I will give it to him and tell him that a big fan of yours gave this note'. The video ends with Shardul holding the note in front of the camera.
In the second ODI against South Africa, the Men in Blue bounced back after losing the first ODI. Chasing an above-par total of 279, India lost the openers (Dhawan 13, Gill 28) for low scores. It was then Ishan Kishan with a blitzkrieg innings who made short work of a towering chase. Along with Kishan was Shreyas Iyer, who scored a fantastic unbeaten hundred of 113 from 111 and got India over the line with a boundary.
