Mumbai Indians pace bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile said after seeing Ishan Kishan decimate the Rajasthan Royals bowling attack that it was "nice to see a special knock" from the youngster, adding that the 23-year-old might have "cemented his position" as an opener for the remaining matches in this IPL.
On a day when the 33-year-old Australian pace bowler demolished the Rajasthan Royals batting with figures of 4/14, restricting them to just 90/9 in 20 overs and then notching up an eight-wicket victory, Coulter-Nile added that he felt really good for Ishan that he scored an unbeaten 50 on a tough wicket, especially after he missing "a couple of games" due to poor form.
There were multiple heroes for Mumbai Indians on Tuesday as Jimmy Neesham (4-0-12-3), Jasprit Bumrah (4-0-14-2) and Coulter-Nile (4-0-14-4) ran through the RR batting, with Ishan Kishan finally finding form to smash an unbeaten 25-ball 50.
"I think it's good to have anyone among the runs. It was really good of Ish (Kishan) to come in, especially after missing a couple of games, and to perform on such a tough wicket just shows the quality of those guys sitting on the bench who come in and perform for us. So, I was really happy to see him score runs. He's been smashing the ball pre-season, so it was only a matter of time before he got something out. Now that he's back in form, he can progress that form going forward," said Coulter-Nile, who had his career-best bowling numbers in the IPL and earned the 'Player of the Match' award.
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021
"I think him (Ishan) batting at the top is a good place for him. He likes to play his shots. On a wicket like that, it's only going to get harder as he tries to make his way up the order. I think he slid into the top order to bat once Quinny (Quinton de Kock) went out. I don't know if there's ever going to be him batting at a lower order. So it was nice to see a special knock, he might have cemented his position," added Coulter-Nile.