India Pakistan match: Ishan Kishan hits fifty on Asia Cup debut, emulates Yuvraj Singh's record arch-rivals

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Ishan Kishan made a statement on his Asia Cup debut and made full use of the opportunity presented to him in the absence of KL Rahul by hitting a crucial fifty against arch-rivals Pakistan.

The wicketkeeper-batter came to bat with India three down for 48 in 9.5 overs. His good friend Shubman Gill, who also made his Asia Cup debut in the high-octane clash, departed soon after his arrival, leaving India reeling on 66/4 in 14.1 overs.

However, the 25-year-old youngster showed utmost maturity, negating the threatening Pakistan pace unit first and then attacking the spinners to script a solid comeback for India alongside Hardik Pandya.

The Patna-born cricketer also emulated legendary Yuvraj Singh's record during the course of his innings. He became only the ninth batter and second left-hand batter after Yuvraj Singh to his a fifty in maiden ODI match against Pakistan.

He joined an elite list consisting of - Mohinder Amarnath, Surinder Khanna, Mohd Azharuddin, Yuvraj Singh, Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Ambati Rayudu.

The fifty is Ishan Kishan's fourth consecutive in the ODI format. In the preceding 3-match ODI series against West Indies, he scored 52, 56 and 77 runs respectively in the three matches.

He missed on his second ODI hundred by 18 runs after Haris Rauf dismissed him for 82 off 81 in the 38th over. Ishan Kishan was seen limping while running between the wicket.

He tried executing a pull of Haris Rauf but ended up ballooning the ball over mid-on where Babar Azam took a simple catch. However, the Jharkhand batter had done his job by then.

His 138-run partnership off 141 balls with Hardik Pandya is the highest in the Asia Cup history for the fifth wicket. The same took India from 66/4 in 14.1 overs to 204/5 in 37.3 overs.

Dropping him from the eleven in case KL Rahul gets fully fit later in the tournament, would be a major headache for India now.