In the form of his life, Ishan Kishan created a record that no India wicket-keeper had ever made before while he blasted a half-century against Namibia.
India and Namibia both played their respective second group match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 when the two teams clashed on Thursday evening at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in India’s capital, Delhi.
Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus won the toss and elected to bowl first. India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed two changes to India’s playing XI that beat the USA last Saturday in Mumbai.
Jasprit Bumrah was back from his illness, replacing Mohammed Siraj, while Sanju Samson got a chance to play his first ICC event match as he replaced Abhishek Sharma, who was rested from this match having been hospitalized until yesterday due to a stomach infection.
India’s innings began with a bang as Samson whacked three sixes before holing out on the last ball of the second over. Kishan took it over from there and plundered a series of fours in the next three overs.
His most thunderous assault came in the last over of the powerplay as he harrumphed pacer JJ Smit to four consecutive sixes and a four to end the 28-run over and bring up a glittering half-century.
IND vs NAM: Ishan Kishan surpasses MS Dhoni’s record for highest score by an Indian keeper in Men’s ICC T20 World Cup
At the end of the powerplay against Namibia, India were 86/1 and Kishan had raced away to a 20-ball fifty. With his knock, Kishan became the first Indian keeper-batsman to hit a half-century in the men’s ICC T20 World Cup. The previous highest individual score in a men’s T20 World Cup by an Indian wicket-keeper was 45, made by MS Dhoni, which the former captain made against South Africa in Durban in 2007.
Behind Kishan and Dhoni are three scores by Rishabh Pant, who featured in the 2021 and 2024 editions of the men’s T20 World Cup.
Highest scores by Indian wicket-keeper batsman in men’s ICC T20 World Cup:
- Ishan Kishan – 61 vs Namibia, Delhi, 2026
- MS Dhoni – 45 vs South Africa, Durban, 2007
- Rishabh Pant – 42 vs Pakistan, New York, 2024
- Rishabh Pant – 39 vs Pakistan, Dubai, 2021
- Rishabh Pant – 36* vs Ireland, New York, 2024
Meanwhile, Kishan scored 61 (24) as India crossed the 100-run mark by the end of the seventh over. At that point, India looked set for a total in the vicinity of 250.
However, India lost wickets regularly as Namibia bowlers deployed their yorkers and into-the-wicket deliveries impressively. Hardik Pandya hammered 52 off 28 balls, and yet India managed to end up with 209/9, a much smaller total than it seemed India would finish with.
In reply, Namibia have done well in the powerplay, scoring 57 runs for the loss of only one wicket. Jasprit Bumrah has surprisingly not bowled a single over in the powerplay.
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