After the 1st half Rahane and Karun were well settled with 97 on the board. They played well and took only ones and doubles. They did not take any risk.
But after the 1st half they went berserk as the took on the DD bowling. They smashed them to all the parts of the ground. Even Karun started taking the bowlers on and in no time their score got big launch. Thy were just superb.
Rahane played brilliant knock of 91 runs of 64 balls and also Karun Nair showed his talent. Rahane also took apart the debutant. They both walked off the field with their heads held high.
The pitch at Brabourne Stadium is relatively unknown. Was it challenging to bat under such conditions?
I have played one game here previously. It was an India ‘A’ game against West Indies. I got about 40 in that game and remained unbeaten. It was about six months ago but that gave me a fair bit of idea of what to expect from the pitch here. We had a camp here as well for three days and I had kind of got used to this kind of bounce and the pace of the wicket. To start off, a new batsman would always find it tough to bat on this pitch. It would only get tougher if the bowlers hit the right areas because the ball was doing a bit. It was a difficult pitch to bat on to begin with, but once you spent some time in the middle it became good to bat on. It was coming on the bat nicely.
Was that the reason why runs weren’t coming easy in the first half of the innings? You just had 97 on the board after 13 overs and then ended up getting 189.
Yes. It was really important for us to get a partnership after Shane Watson’s dismissal. While stitching the partnership we also had to bear in mind to keep the run-rate high. We spoke about running hard between the wickets and then getting the odd boundary and play normal cricket shots. We wanted to take the game as deep as possible because we have good hitters in our side. We did that really well. The plan was to get ten runs in every over after the time-out and target 170 at the end of 20 overs. Anything more than that was always meant to be a bonus. One boundary an over was what was discussed in the meeting.
You haven’t got big scores against your name this season so far. This knock must give you confidence.
Coming into the tournament, and in the tournament, I was playing quite well. In the beginning of the tournament I was trying too hard to get runs. Also there weren’t many deliveries for me to play. Since I got a lot of time to play today, I told myself why not make the most of it. I had made my mind to give myself time and I am glad I hit the ball really well today. I told myself at the beginning of the innings I should just play run-a-ball and look for the odd boundary. I was confident I could find those boundaries while looking for the singles and doubles at the same time. I gave myself time in the first ten to fifteen balls and from then on I decided to go for the big shots. I am not a powerful hitter, but I can hit the ball for a six. A six doesn’t necessarily need to go out of the ground, it has to just clear the fence and I think I can do it easily. I just focus on playing normal cricket shots and try not to lose my shape while playing them.
Talking about time, batting at number three would have helped your style of play. When was it decided you would bat in that position?
Even in the last game I was supposed to bat at number three. It was just a management decision to send Sanju Samson ahead of me (in the match against Mumbai Indians). The management keeps changing their decisions according to the situation of the match. Tonight the team felt I was right for the situation and they decided to bat me at three.
So do sudden changes in plans with regards to batting positions disturb your game-play?
Not at all. Once you go into the field, you have a lot of time to think about your batting. You have to read the situation and react accordingly. Batting positions don’t matter to me much. I want to play well whenever I get the opportunity and do well for the team.
How was it batting with Ajinkya Rahane, just a few things to learn from him as well?
The most impressive thing about Rahane is that he keeps things simple. It is amazing how he keeps it simple and gets runs at the same time. He never gets flustered by the situation. He doesn’t try too much and plays just normal cricket shots to get runs. That is one thing I have been trying to learn from him. Also having Rahul Dravid sir is a huge inspiration and it is a privilege to be a part of the same team. Whatever I can take from him during practice sessions will be valuable for me
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