Ishan Kishan breaks Manish Pandey’s eight-year-old record to become India’s highest run-scorer at No. 5 or lower in T20Is

Nisshin: India’s Ishan Kishan celebrates his half-century (PTI Photo) Ishan Kishan produced a stunning rescue act in India’s 2026 Asian Games semi-final against Sri Lanka as he smashed an unbeaten 80 to lift India to 169/7 and set a target of 170.Kishan put India in trouble after the Sri Lankan bowlers attacked regularly, but the left-hander turned the momentum with an attacking stroke. He remained unbeaten on 80 off 46 balls, hitting four boundaries and five sixes.His innings was not only crucial to India’s total but also rewrote the record books.

Kishan surpasses Manish Pandey

Kishan’s unbeaten 80 became the highest individual score by an Indian batsman at No.5 or lower in T20Is, surpassing Manish Pandey’s eight-year-old record of 79* against South Africa in Centurion in 2018.

Highest individual score for India from No. 5 or lower in a T20I

RankScoreBatterOpponentVenueYear180*Ishan KishanSri LankaNisshin2026279*Manish PandeySouth AfricaCenturion2018377*Yuvraj SinghAustraliaRajkot2013471*Hardik PandyaAustraliaMohali2022569*Rinku SinghAfghanistanBengaluru2024668*Rinku SinghSouth AfricaGqeberha2023

Sooryavanshi provides an early boost

India’s innings began with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi providing the aggression at the top. The young opener smashed 38 off 21 balls to give India a strong start before Sri Lanka clawed their way back into the contest.Abhishek Sharma departed for seven while Sanju Samson was also dismissed for seven. Sooryavanshi then fell after an attacking 38, leaving India under pressure. Shreyas Iyer contributed 13 before being bowled by Wanuja Sahan, while Axar Patel and Tilak Varma also departed cheaply.With the wickets around him, Kishan shouldered the responsibility and ensured that India had a competitive unit to defend. Kishan picked up the pace as the innings progressed, regularly finding the boundary and attacking the Sri Lankan bowlers.His unbeaten 80 off 46 balls combined with contributions around him took India to 169/7 in 20 overs.For Sri Lanka, captain Sahan Arachchige and Tharindu Ratnayake took two wickets each while Wanuja Sahan, Nuwanidu Fernando and Lasith Croospulle took one each.