Kishan shrugs off No.1 T20I tag as India and West Indies brace for Bengaluru decider

With the five-match series level at 2-2, India and West Indies are set for a winner-takes-all contest in the fifth T20I at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday. Persistent rain delayed both sides' pre-match preparations, with neither team having begun its warm-up at the time of Kishan's interaction with the broadcasters. The fixture also marks the return of international cricket to Bengaluru after a two-year gap.

'Don't care if I'm No. 1 or No. 100'

Kishan, who has climbed to the top of the ICC T20I batting rankings, said he had no interest in dwelling on whether he is the world's premier batter or further down the list. The left-hander insisted he would rather approach every game on its own merit and avoid the weight of expectation that accompanies a ranking.

"Nah, I mean, at this early stage in my life, I don't want to look into stats where I stand, if I'm a number 1 batter or I'm a number 100 batter. It's just one game at a time you take, and you just try to play your best cricket. I personally love to keep all these stats aside because I don't want to get into any thought where I'm thinking about, okay, I am number one and I need to play in a certain way," Kishan said in a pre-match interaction with the broadcasters.

"It's not that, you just need to go in the middle and you need to enjoy as much as you can. And especially in these situations where it's a decider game, where pressure is there, you need to enjoy those moments, leave everything aside, and that's how we prepare here," he added.

'Very much happy to be in this situation'

Kishan also described the mood in the India camp as a blend of relaxation and an awareness of the occasion's significance. He welcomed the pressure of a decider, saying it is precisely the kind of contest the side relishes.

"No, it's like somewhere in the middle of both. But I know it's a decider game. We have not been in this situation recently, and so happy to be in this situation because always a decider match, it comes up with pressure," he said.

"It comes up with expectations and everything, and this is what we want when we go into bat. You don't want to be, like, in a situation where it doesn't matter so much. So very much happy to be in this situation. But the most important thing is we all look in good frame of mind, which is the most important thing for each player, and we look to just play good cricket," he added.

Series locked after a topsy-turvy rubber

The decider arrives after a fluctuating series. India moved to a 2-1 lead in the third T20I in Indore, powered by Abhishek Sharma's 69 off 30 balls as the hosts posted 223; West Indies fell 14 runs short. Former India batter Cheteshwar Pujara, writing on October 14, also praised Ishan Kishan's contribution at No. 3, saying the left-hander "is doing what the Indian team needs" by maintaining momentum behind the explosive top order and supporting Sanju Samson at the top. The fourth T20I, however, levelled the contest and set up Saturday's Bengaluru shootout.