IPL 2021: Was matter of time before Ishan Kishan got among runs, says Coulter-Nile

After registering a comprehensive eight-wicket win over Rajasthan Royals in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021, Mumbai Indians' pacer Nathan Coulter-Nile said that it was just a matter of time before wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan got among the runs.

Ishan Kishan played an unbeaten knock of 50 runs off just 25 balls with the help of five 4s and three 6s to help Mumbai Indians defeat Rajasthan Royals by eight wickets with 70 balls to spare.

"I think it is good to have anyone among runs. It was really good for Ishan to come in especially after missing a couple of games to perform really well on a wicket like this, this really shows the quality we have on our bench. Really happy to see him score runs, he was smashing it around in the pre-season, it was a matter of time he got runs," said Coulter-Nile during a virtual post-match press conference.

"I think opening the batting is a logical place for Ishan to bat. He likes to play his shots, so I think he was slated to bat in the top-order once Quinton de Kock went out. I do not know whether there was a chance of him batting in the middle-order," he added.

Earlier, Coulter-Nile returned with figures of 4-14 as Rajasthan Royals was restricted to 90/9 in the allotted twenty overs. Jimmy Neesham also took three wickets as no Rajasthan batter was able to stay at the crease for a long haul.

"We all have to bowl well for someone else to be successful. We have Trent Boult and Jasprit Bumrah bowling well. James Neesham bowled well against Rajasthan Royals, everyone who comes in is responsible for keeping the pressure on. So, I was lucky that pressure was applied when I came on and I got the wickets, it could be anyone else in the next game. We have been really good, hopefully, we can keep the trend going," said Coulter-Nile.

"I think it is a part of the IPL. If you look at any other side, all of them have quality players sitting on the bench. Even us, we had Quinton de Kock sitting on the bench, Chris Lynn not even at the ground. The quality on the bench is high, when you are training, you always sort of testing yourself in the conditions," he added.

Mumbai Indians will next lock horns against SunRisers Hyderabad at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Friday.

(ANI)

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