Ishan Kishan showed how to bat in the limited overs format in Chittagong on Saturday. The exuberance of youth was on display as he hammered the Bangladesh bowling to provide a timely reminder to the national selectors.

The Jharkhand batter’s innings might well show the way forward in the ODI and T20 formats. He displayed what it meant to be fearless and bold, the lack of which have been largely responsible for India’s poor performance in ICC tournaments for almost a decade.

Whenever Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have played together, India’s starts have become considerably slower, their run rate dropping from 5.30 to 4.95.

Kishan didn’t follow any formula. While records fell by the wayside, he attacked at the sight of the slightest width. He was intent on picking boundaries and showed an uncluttered approach to batting. His 210 is sure to help the selectors in their quest for effecting a change in India’s limited overs approach.

If Rohit was fit and available for this third and final ODI, Ishan Kishan may not even have been a part of India’s XI on Saturday.

In his last ODI series, Kishan set up a successful chase with an attacking 93 off 84 balls against South Africa. Then too he got the chance because the regular top-order was in Australia preparing for the T20 World Cup.

Skill-wise, Kishan has never been far from the current lot of youngsters looking to cement their place in India’s white-ball teams. The 24-yearold entered his name in the record books by smashing the fastest-ever double century in ODIs and being the youngest (in men’s cricket) to achieve the feat.

Kishan’s blinder of a knock — 210 off 131 balls comprising 24 boundaries and 10 sixes — and a century from Virat Kohli (113 off 91 balls), which was his first in ODI cricket after more than three years, powered India to a massive 409 for 8 after they were put in to bat at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Kohli now has 44 ODI centuries — only Sachin Tendulkar (49) has more. This was also his 72nd hundred in international cricket with only Tendulkar ahead with 100.

That target was just too much for Bangladesh to chase down. The lack of intensity in their approach, having clinched the series already by virtue of winning the first two games, could also be gauged. India thus avoided a whitewash, winning the game of academic interest by a huge margin of 227 runs with all their bowlers having something to show in the wickets column.

But the outcome mattered little. What will be talked about is the blitzkrieg of Kishan, who raced to a double hundred off just 126 balls. He also joined the elite league of Indian cricketers with double centuries in ODIs — Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit.

Agreed, the series was already decided and the Bangladesh bowling too wasn’t of the highest standards. But it’s never easy for someone to produce such a knock in only his 10th match in the 50-over format.

This innings of Kishan at the top of the order may well put a little more pressure on senior pro Dhawan, whose lean patch continued as he managed very few runs on Saturday too.

Even stalwarts of the game haven’t been able to bat with such ease and dominate on the slow, sluggish Bangladeshi wickets. The Chittagong pitch seemed better for strokeplay compared to the tricky ones of Mirpur, but Kishan deserved credit for not sparing any of the Bangladeshi bowlers.

He did unleash most of his big hits over the leg side, which is his preferred area of scoring. But his innings featured some crisp drives and cuts as well, which were all based on proper timing.

Relief for Kohli

It was Kishan who did the bulk of the scoring in the 290- run second-wicket stand with Kohli. For Kohli, it was indeed a welcome relief to have finally scored an ODI hundred after a long time.

The for mer captain, though, should be thankful to Bangladesh captain Litton Das, who dropped a sitter at short mid-wicket off Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s bowling. Kohli was yet to reach double figures then.

Just like his unbeaten 122 against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, the 113 runs he scored on Saturday also came in a game having little consequence. Nonetheless, what matters are the runs beside Kohli’s name on the scoresheet. Also, going into the two-Test series beginning on Wednesday, having some runs under his belt should make Kohli feel better in terms of mindset.

It’s important for India to win both Tests to improve their position in the World Test Championship standings, where they are currently placed at No.4. With regular captain Rohit Sharma likely to miss the Test series with a dislocation on his left thumb, India would obviously want Kohli to come up with substantial contributions.

After a shaky start, Kohli gradually managed to get into his groove and unleashed some of his trademark drives, making full use of the freebies on offer. He celebrated the landmark by launching a Mustafizur Rahman offcutter over his head for six.

Virat Kohli in action in Chittagong on Saturday. AP/PTI