India left-arm spinner R Sai Kishore scored his maiden T20 fifty in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday (December 4).
Sai Kishore nearly doubles career T20 runs tally with maiden half-century
At the Narendra Modi Stadium 'A' ground in Ahmedabad, Sai Kishore's Tamil Nadu side were put in to bat after Tripura skipper Manisankar Murasingh won the toss.
Match 93, Tamil Nadu vs Tripura
vs
- Ball by ball Over
Tripura struck four times in the Powerplay, as Tushar Raheja, VP Amit Sathvik, B Sai Sudharsan and Mohammed Ali all fell for single-digit scores. At 26-4 in 5.3 overs, Sai Kishore, promoted from his usual slot around No.8, joined N Jagadeesan in the middle, with the latter on nine off 10 balls.
Read more: 4 for 13: Sidelined India bowling great roars back into form with second-best T20 figures
The pair ended up putting on 119 off 67 balls for the fifth wicket before Jagadeesan went for 83 off 49. Sai Kishore, on 45 off 28 at that point, soon made his way to a maiden T20 half-century off 31 balls.
When Jagadeesan departed, Tamil Nadu were 145-5 in 16.4 overs. The next 20 balls saw them score another 59 as Sai Kishore teed off. The last eight balls of his innings saw him score 33, including one four and four sixes. In the final over of the innings, he hit three consecutive maximums off Indrajith Debnath to finish on 87 not out from 39 balls.
Until today, Sai Kishore averaged 6.05 with the bat, from 25 innings in T20 cricket. His career run tally stood at 103, which he nearly matched today. His highest score before today was 21, and this knock was in fact just the third time he made it to double figures in the shortest format. He does, however, have three first-class and two List A half-centuries to his name.
Sai Kishore played three T20Is for India at the 2023 Asian Games, but has found appearances hard to come by ever since (his lack of a batting record is sure to have played a part). In the 2025 IPL, his 19 wickets were the second-highest for a spinner, behind Afghan left-arm leggie Noor Ahmad (24).
Sai Kishore: Highest scores in T20 cricket
| Score | For | Against | Year |
| 87* | Tamil Nadu | Tripura | 2025 |
| 21* | Tamil Nadu | Gujarat | 2024 |
| 13 | Gujarat Titans | Delhi Capitals | 2024 |
| 9* | Tamil Nadu | Nagaland | 2023 |
| 9 | Tamil Nadu | Bengal | 2022 |
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