"Needed an innings like this to silence his critics" - Fans erupt as Ishan Kishan smashes 75 off 41 balls vs PBKS in IPL 2023

Mumbai Indians (MI) opener Ishan Kishan starred with the bat against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in their IPL 2023 game at the PCA Stadium on Wednesday, May 3.

The left-handed batter scored 75 runs off just 41 balls at a strike rate of 182.93, including four sixes and seven boundaries. He also shared a partnership of 116 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (66 off 31 deliveries) to recover MI from 54/2.

It was Ishan's only second half-century of the ongoing IPL 2023. The 24-year-old has amassed 269 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 135.85.

Fans on Twitter hailed Ishan Kishan's performance while chasing 200+ against PBKS away from home. One user tweeted:

"Ishan Kishan needed an innings like this to silence his critics. He is not a fraud player, yes I’m not a #MI fan but I like how Ishan plays fearlessly."

Here are some of the other best Twitter reactions on the southpaw's blistering knock:

For the uninitiated, MI retained Ishan for Rs 15.25 crore ahead of the IPL 2023 mini-auction. This came following his exploits with the bat for MI last season, where he amassed 418 runs in 14 games, including three half-centuries.

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Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav steal the show as MI chase 215 vs PBKS

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav’s exploits with the bat set up the perfect platform for in-form Tim David and Tilak Verma to help MI chase 215 against PBKS.

Verma and David remained unbeaten on 26(10) and 19(10), respectively. Cameron Green also chipped in with 23.

Nathan Ellis emerged as the pick of the bowlers for PBKS, returning with figures of 2/34. Rishi Dhawan and Arshdeep Singh also took one apiece.

Earlier, Liam Livingstone and Jitesh Sharma propelled PBKS to 214/3 in their allotted 20 overs. Livingstone scored 82 off 42 balls, while Jitesh hit 49 off 27 deliveries. The duo shared a partnership of 119 runs for the fourth wicket. Meanwhile, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan and Mathew Short chipped in with scores of 30 and 27, respectively.

For MI, Piyush Chawla bagged two wickets, while Arshad Khan scalped one.