Ishan Kishan reveals! How a chat with Virat Kohli changed MI batsman's fortunes in IPL 2021

His form has been a worrying factor for India too as the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 looms large. Kishan said a chat with India and Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli during the IPL 2021 has been vastly beneficial.

His blistering half-century powered Mumbai Indians to an easy eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals.

"It's nice to be back opening and getting runs for the team and helping win by a big margin. Feeling really good, was much needed for our team to get momentum. It was good to field first, got a good idea of the surface," said Ishan Kishan during the postmatch presentation.

"Our plan was to play as straight as possible. Just play in the V was the plan and the batsmen executed really well. I feel ups and downs are a big part of any sportsman. I was also not in good shape," he added.

Rajasthan Royals picked two wickets in the Powerplay but conceded 56 as Mumbai Indians went all guns blazing in the first six overs chasing 91.

Ishan continued the onslaught and helped Mumbai Indians chase down the target within nine overs.

Speaking about the support he got during the lean patch, Ishan Kishan said, "Most of the batters were not getting runs like previous seasons. We had great support staff. Our captain... in fact I had a chat with Virat bhai, Hardik bhai.. everyone was there to support me.

''I had a chat with KP (Pollard) who said you just need to keep things simple, bat the way you used to do, just watch the videos of what you did in the last season.

''I watched a few videos of my batting and that gave me a bit of confidence. The win against Rajasthan Royals has got the side back in the playoff race. There is talk of us wanting KKR to lose the next game and us winning our next game (smiles), but that is way ahead now.

''We just have to prepare for our next game. Need to play with the same energy today. Looking forward to doing this again in the next game," said Kishan.

Rohit backs Kishan

Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma said the team wanted Ishan Kishan to play his natural game against Rajasthan Royals.

"We had to come here and do what we had to do, which was to get the two points. It was a chance to improve our run rate as well. We got off to a flier, and we said there is a chance for us to up the run rate," said Rohit during the post-match presentation.

"It was the perfect game for us to do that. Kishan is playing after a couple of games, so we wanted him to take his time. I didn't say anything to him [after he played a maiden]. All we wanted for him was to play his shots, which is what he did," he added.

The win against Rajasthan Royals has got the side back in the playoff race. Rohit said Mumbai Indians know what the team has to do against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday.

"When you are under the radar, it is important to do your job. We have been doing well and preparing well. All the bowlers came together and used the conditions well. All eight teams are capable of beating each other. But the good thing is that KKR play before us, so we know what to do," Rohit signed off.

Coulter-Nile happy for Kishan

After registering a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), Mumbai Indians' pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile said that it was just a matter of time before wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan got among the runs.

Kishan played an unbeaten knock of 50 runs off just 25 balls with the help of five 4s and three 6s to help Mumbai Indians defeat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets with 70 balls to spare.

"I think it is good to have anyone among runs. It was really good for Ishan to come in especially after missing a couple of games to perform really well on a wicket like this, this really shows the quality we have on our bench.

''Really happy to see him score runs, he was smashing it around in the pre-season, it was a matter of time he got runs," said Coulter-Nile during a virtual post-match press conference.

"I think opening the batting is a logical place for Ishan to bat. He likes to play his shots, so I think he was slated to bat in the top-order once Quinton de Kock went out. I do not know whether there was a chance of him batting in the middle-order," he added.

Earlier, Coulter-Nile returned with figures of 4-14 as Rajasthan Royals was restricted to 90/9 in the allotted 20 overs.

Jimmy Neesham also took three wickets as no Rajasthan batter was able to stay at the crease for a long haul.

"We all have to bowl well for someone else to be successful. We have Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah bowling well. James Neesham bowled well against Rajasthan Royals, everyone who comes in is responsible for keeping the pressure on.

So, I was lucky that pressure was applied when I came on and I got the wickets, it could be anyone else in the next game. We have been really good, hopefully, we can keep the trend going," said Coulter-Nile.

"I think it is a part of the IPL. If you look at any other side, all of them have quality players sitting on the bench. Even us, we had Quinton de Kock sitting on the bench, Chris Lynn not even at the ground. The quality on the bench is high, when you are training, you always sort of testing yourself in the conditions," he added.