Ishan kishan opened today for Gujarat Lions .He is my favourite upcoming batsman ,especially lethal is his bat speed.Also admirable is his balance while playing .Head remains still and body is fully committed in any shot he plays.Him and Baz opening together promised a blockbuster Saturday evening.Bring it on,then….

I kept aside the novel  that I was reading and braced myself for some lusty hitting action.Ishan got a four from the first over from McClenaghan,and then clobbered a six in malinga’s next.I was supposed to bathe and then dine at Eight.No way I am leaving the telecast till IK is there.McCullam joined the party and hit a four as well.Then,as is his wont,he was clean bowled the next ball charging against Malinga.

‘’So what ? Ishan is still here.’’Meanwhile ,whatsapp group was warming up .Rafa was playing his semifinal in Barcelona.

‘’I wont watch him.Not at the cost of this boy warrior.’’ Some interested parties peddled the names of Samson and Pant .

“But IK is a much better keeper.They can play only as bastmen.”I tried to make a case of his performance in Syed mushtaq trophy and the Ranji.

Meanwhile he fleeced  Mc Clenaghan of a six and two fours.The lad was flying. Bath loomed large as a possibility but I wud not take that chance.Dinner can wait.The craving to watch some sixes had suddenly been transformed into a kind of a protective feeling for the youngster.

I have never believed in jinxes, reverse jinxes ,revreverses and other powered variants of them.Off course, espncricinfo and sports craizies are full of such references.We have our own Master jinxer and Master reverse jinxers in every sport group.But post-sachin ,I have never invested my soul enough to believe in these sorceries,diableries and witchcrafts.

Wickets kept falling at the other end.Raina and Finch fell cheaply,IK held on.He restricted his aggression and tried to build a platform for a decent score.Dinesh Karthik ,expectedly struggled and predictably fell for a hard fought 2 off 9 balls.In came jadu,promptly hit a six and then IK also hit a four.I was now hungry.Eleven overs had already passed by.The fifty was there for the taking.

The twelfth was to  be bolwed by bhajji.I might miss a few blows,but wud be back by the next over.Telling myself this and yet remaining conscious of the promise I had made ,I braved myself  for a quick bath.I turned the volume to full,and stepped into the bathroom.That very moment Ishan stepped out to a crafy back-of- length off spinner and holed out to long off.I had inadvertently brought about his downfall at 48.Bye bye,Ishan.Your guardian angel gave up on you.

No more false/fake promises now.I surely cant keep them.I wont play with their careers in the future.Not of Nole’s ,del porto’s or Nick’s and  certainly not of Ishan Kishan’s.