SKY did not think too much about triple-duck Abhishek Sharma’s dry run in the tournament so far
Ahmedabad: India may not yet have played the explosive cricket they are known for so far in the tournament, but captain Suryakumar Yadav is not quite worried. He feels the big one is round the corner.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday, the eve of their opening Super Eight match against South Africa, Surya put it down to the variety of pitches the team has been playing on. “We have been trying to explode from the start of the tournament but have got into situations where we lost two or three wickets quickly. So we had to be smart and bat well between overs 7 and 15. Now, whenever we get a good start, we will bat with those (eruptive) templates,” he said.
“We also have expectations to make 220, 240, 250 runs but the wickets are a little different here (to the ones on which matches in the bilateral series were played in the build-up to the World Cup). The four wickets we have played on so far were different and challenging. Off-spinners were not bowling earlier but are now. So we have started preparation for that and hopefully we will tackle it as we start our Super 8 journey,” Surya explained.
SKY did not think too much about triple-duck Abhishek Sharma’s dry run in the tournament so far. “Agreed he has not yet scored but when he does, you have seen what happens,” he said, adding “The team has a requirement that the boy should play with his identity, which is what he is doing. If it clicks, fine, if it doesn’t, then we are there to cover (for him). Last year he covered for us, now we will cover for him.”
That pretty much confirmed the opener’s place in the XI for Sunday’s game.
Surya also offered an explanation on Tilak Varma slowing down. “The team management has told him that he has to bat that way. If one wicket is down, he can go and play his own game in Powerplay but as soon as two wickets are down, he has to take a bit of a backseat, get a partnership again till the 10th over and then we have enough firepower to continue and take on the bowling,” he said.
“I don’t have any concern regarding him. He has been delivering for India really well at No. 3 and am very confident that he will do better,” Surya continued about Tilak.
In the same vein, the skipper said the team needed to be flexible. “Except the openers — I think from No. 3 to 7 or 8 — everyone has to be very flexible. That’s been the message in the group, that if there is no wicket down till 8 or 9 overs, there might be a point where you might see Shivam Dube walking in or even a Hardik (Pandya) walking in, if there is a proper match-up,” he said.
Surya also spoke highly of the bowlers. “I take a lot of pride in my bowling unit. I know that on a given day, if we ever made 170, 175 or 180, then we have so much good bowling that it can win us that game,” he said.
How about pressure? “When you’re playing such a big event on home soil, you definitely feel the pressure. If there is no pressure, there won’t be any fun in playing this game. We are trying our best to keep it simple, be in the present, keep our feet where we are and take one step at a time,” Surya signed off.
