IPL experience invaluable for us, says van der Dussen
Rassie and Miller put on unbeaten 131-run partnership in just 64 balls to carry SA to seven-wicket victory
NEW DELHI: He might not have played a lot of games for Rajasthan Royals in this edition of IPL, but Rassie van der Dussen counts his experience of watching close games from the dugout as invaluable, something that helped while chasing a huge total in the first T20 International (T20I) against India.
Van der Dussen scored 75 off 46 balls as South Africa chased down a target of 212 with five balls to spare in the first T20I.
Van der Dussen, who played only three games for the Rajasthan Royals this season, feels staying in India for the past couple of months helped the majority of the South African players to cope with extreme conditions, while also providing them with a fair idea on how to tackle the Indian bowlers.
“Definitely (IPL has helped). I watched a lot of IPL games, did not get much of an opportunity to play but I had a pretty good idea what their bowlers would do and the conditions,” van der Dussen said at the post match press conference on Thursday.
“Indian conditions are different to what we have in South Africa. I spent two months here, been in these conditions, been in the heat, so had acclimatised to that and that goes for everyone,” he added.
The likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje were all part of the league this season, which was played entirely in India.
“We had a lot of guys in the IPL this year and that’s helped us in the first game to adapt quicker and get over the line.”
Van der Dussen, who stitched a match-winning partnership with Miller, had initially struggled in his unbeaten 75-run knock.
“I struggled to get the pace of the wicket, I was under pressure. But David continued his form from the IPL and played a brilliant innings, put pressure on the bowlers and just pulled me through.
“He hit one or two sixes and the momentum swung towards us. I was obviously lucky, you got to acknowledge that. But luck is the part of the game.
“When I was dropped, I knew I had to make India pay.”
The 33-year-old right hander had a slice of luck going his way after his initial struggle with the bat as he was dropped by Shreyas Iyer on 29 in the 16th over.
“I did feel under pressure, not being able to get boundaries early on but I think it wasn’t due to lack of intent or planning. Sometimes it just doesn’t come off.
“I was lucky. If Shreyas would have caught that ball, it might have been a different game. Saying that, we had a lot of batting coming in after that.”
But once Van der Dussen got a second life, he knew he had to make it count as he had already dealt with the tough part of settling in on a tricky wicket.
“The key for me, was that when he dropped it, I knew I had to make them pay because I took balls to get in and it was a wicket that got easier once you get in,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan, who scored 76 on Thursday, is aware that he will have to wait for his opportunities once regular skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul return to the Indian team.
After his innings against South Africa, which was scratchy in some parts, Kishan pledged to control the controllables.
“They (Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul) are world-class players and I won’t ask for my spot when they are there in the team. They have scored so many runs for our country, I cannot ask them to drop themselves and make me play in the first place,” Kishan said at the post-match press conference.
“My job here is to give my best in the practice sessions. Whenever I get my opportunity, I have to prove myself or do well for the team. I focus more on that and what I have to do,” Kishan added.