Ishan Kishan century for India - (Source: X.com)In the ongoing fifth and final T20I between India and New Zealand at Sanju Samson’s home ground, Trivandrum, southpaw Ishan Kishan seized the opportunity and slammed his maiden T20I century. The left-handed batter brought up his ton in 42 balls.Notably, Ishan joined the elite list and became the seventh Indian to slam a hundred in the shortest format of the match. The 27-year-old walked to the bat when the Men in Blue were 31/1 after 2.5 overs. India lost two early wickets, but Ishan Kishan was unfazed by the surroundings and played his natural game.Ishan Kishan slams 5th fastest T20I century for IndiaIshan stitched a century-run stand with Suryakumar Yadav and also completed his century in style with a maximum. The 27-year-old slammed six fours and 10 sixes. Following the ton, Ishan Kishan made a huge roar and Hardik Pandya stole the limelight as he was equally happy for the southpaw. Eventually, Kishan returned to the pavillion after scoring 103 (43).For the unversed, Ishan's blistering ton was the fifth fastest T20I century for India. Notably, Rohit Sharma holds the record for his 35-ball hundred against Sri Lanka in Indore, Madhya Pradesh in 2017. Here is the complete list.Fastest 100 for India in T20Is (By Balls):35 - Rohit Sharma vs Sri Lanka, Indore, 201737 - Abhishek Sharma vs England, Mumbai (Wankhede), 202540 - Sanju Samson vs Bangladesh, Hyderabad, 202441 - Tilak Varma vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 202442 - Ishan Kishan vs New Zealand, Thiruvananthapuram, 2026*Also, Ishan's century is the fastest century by a batter against New Zealand in T20Is. Why was the century important for Ishan Kishan?Ishan Kishan has had brilliant couple of months. Notably, the southpaw was not in scheme of things until the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025. Notably, Ishan had a brilliant season where he scored 517 runs in SMAT, where he averaged 57.44.Most importantly, Ishan scored a century in the final and led Jharkhand to the title. His century came at a time when Shubman Gill was struggling for form and it opened doors for Ishan's India return.Despite Ishan's India return, he was the backup choice because of Sanju Samson in the team. However, Samson failed miserable in the series and amassed just 46 runs in five innings. Whereas Ishan Kishan seized the opportunity at Sanju Samson's home ground and dropped a massive headache to the mangement, whether to bench him for the T20 World Cup 2026 or not.It is worth noting that at the time of writing this article, India put 271/5 on the board, their third highest total in T20I history. The chase is on and for the first time in this series, Ishan Kishan kept the gloves while Sanju Samson was fielding near the boundary ropes. Further, New Zealand have already lost a wicket and are 23/1 after 1.1 overs.
