Ishan Kishan opens innings instead of Samson, smashes 20-ball fifty in T20 World Cup warm-up game
Ishan Kishan smacked a 20-ball half-century against South Africa in the T20 World Cup warm-up match at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday. Kishan smacked seven sixes and just two fours during before he retired out, scoring 53 runs.
Kishan opened the innings ahead of Sanju Samson, who was the designated at that position in the recently held five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
However, Kishan’s impressive returns and Samson’s poor outing in that series has changed the fortunes for both players.
India vs South Africa warm-up match live score
At the toss, captain Suryakumar Yadav, when asked who’ll open, said, “Definitely Ishan and Abhishek (Sharma).”
Kishan didn’t take much time to get out, whacking a six off only his second ball over mid-on. Throughout his stay, he was quick to pick the ball over leg side—all his sixes came through pick-up and pull shots.
He retired out right after reaching his fifty and Tilak Varma came into bat at number three.
Published on Feb 04, 2026
