New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar hailed Ishan Kishan’s calmness and maturity after the wicketkeeper-batter guided Sunrisers Hyderabad to a crucial five-wicket victory over Chennai Super Kings and into the IPL 2026 playoffs.

Kishan played a brilliant innings in the chase, with his 70 coming off 47 balls in the slow and turning Chepauk conditions and was involved in the match-winning stand with Heinrich Klaasen after they had lost Travis Head in the second over.

“This has to be one of the defining knocks of Ishan Kishan’s IPL career, and probably one of his finest innings in the tournament as well,” Bangar said on JioHotstar.

“Ever since we’ve seen this new version of Ishan Kishan, the one thing that really stands out is his composure. He never looked hurried, and that is a tremendous quality to have in a fast-paced T20 format.”

“To have the belief to stay till the very end and build that partnership was outstanding.”

Bangar also compared Kishan’s innings to the kind of responsibility expected from a senior batter in difficult conditions.

“The kind of role Stephen Fleming would probably have expected from someone like Ruturaj was delivered by Ishan Kishan in the other innings,” he said.

“He stitched the partnership at the right time, attacked when needed, and ensured Klaasen got as much of the strike as possible.”

“There were so many aspects to admire about this innings. It was an absolute joy to watch him bat in such terrific fashion.”

Klaasen, whose 47 came off a mere 26 balls, had initially sped up the chase before Kishan finished things with ease along with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Smaran Ravichandran. Earlier, CSK had made 180/7 at which stage Dewald Brevis had top-scored with 44 and Pat Cummins had ended up with figures of 3/28 to pick his 200th T20 wicket. The win booked SRH’s spot in the playoffs with 16 points from 13 matches and consolidated their reputation as the best batting outfit in IPL 2026.

–IANS

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