"Getting that rhythm back" - Deep Dasgupta on Ishan Kishan's scintillating knock in IPL 2023 clash between PBKS and MI

Deep Dasgupta has pointed out how Ishan Kishan was timing the ball wonderfully during Mumbai Indians' (MI) IPL 2023 encounter against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Wednesday, May 3.

Kishan shone with the bat in Mumbai's thumping six-wicket victory over Punjab, helping his side chase down a mammoth 215-run target with a fiery half-century. The southpaw mustered 75 runs off just 41 balls, finishing with an impressive strike rate of 182.93.

Dasgupta suggested that Kishan had found his lost rhythm and was able to hit the ball really well.

Speaking to Cricbuzz following the fixture, he remarked:

"The best part was how he [Ishan Kishan] was timing it today. He's got runs, but even if he hadn't got as many runs as he did, you could see that he's timing it a lot better. The ball was pinging out of his bat and sounding good. You could see that he is getting that rhythm back."

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Kishan's partnership with Suryakumar Yadav swung the pendulum in MI's favor. Dasgupta noted that the two batters did an exceptional job, despite the pressure of the required run rate, adding:

"That partnership set it up. In the first few overs, even though they were keeping up the pace, at that point in time, the asking rate suddenly went up to 12 and a half. Things started to happen when both of them opened up their arms.

"It was happening from both ends. Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] was doing what Surya does, but it was Ishan as well contributing massively. Suddenly, from that 13th over onwards, it just seemed like a different game altogether."

Kishan and Suryakumar stitched together a stunning 116-run partnership for the third wicket at the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium in Mohali. MI ultimately won the contest comfortably with six wickets and seven balls to spare.

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"Had an effect on his confidence for sure" - Deepdas Gupta on Suryakumar bagging three successive golden ducks vs Australia

Suryakumar Yadav fared miserably in India's three-match home ODI series against Australia ahead of IPL 2023, bagging three golden ducks on the trot.

While he was under the scanner for his form following the series, Deep Dasgupta believes that he was just out of runs and not form. He highlighted that the batter hadn't faced enough balls for one to assess if he was struggling or not.

The former cricketer did, however, indicate that those three outings would definitely have dented Suryakumar's confidence, elaborating:

"When people talk about him [Suryakumar] not being in form, listen, he hasn't played enough balls to figure out whether he is in form or not. How do you judge someone with three first-ball ducks. You can't really judge.

"I can understand when he has played an innings and it is not coming onto the bat, or he is not looking good, you can assess form. Yes, he was out of runs and it was quite evident that his three first-ballers had an effect on his confidence for sure."

Suryakumar struck a fine half-century against PBKS, his third of the season. He scored 66 runs off 31 balls before falling to Nathan Ellis.