Mumbai: After a tough time in Australia last year, Delhi Capitals’ young opener Prithvi Shaw got his 2021 IPL campaign off on the right note with a blazing 72 off just 38 balls against Chennai Super Kings on Saturday.
His effort was instrumental in Delhi Capitals’ big win and along with Shikhar Dhawan put on 138 runs for the opening wicket. Dhawan played delightful strokes in his 54-ball 85, while Shaw was more aggressive to chase down their target of 189 with eight balls and seven wickets to spare in Mumbai.
“Very happy with the way I batted. Everyone executed whatever we practiced in the last few days. It was brilliant to see everyone contributing to the team. The opening stand which we got was very crucial for us. Chasing 190 odd is not easy without a good start. It was a great win for us; however, I should’ve stayed in the middle until the end. So, if I have to rate my innings out of 10, I will give an 8 to myself,” Shaw said after the match.
The 21-year-old, who carried his blistering form into the IPL, spoke about how he got back into form.
“I made some small changes in my batting before the IPL. I just wanted to minimize all the mistakes I was making, and I worked hard. I practiced for two weeks with Strength & Conditioning Coach Rajinikanth Sivagnanam sir and Pravin Amre sir before the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Then I just played my natural game with a few changes in the Vijay Hazare Trophy,” he said.
When asked about the newly appointed Skipper Rishabh Pant’s captaincy, the opener said, “We really miss Shreyas Iyer, and he led the team very well. However, Rishabh Pant is very smart. He is fearless and enjoys the game. He’s very entertaining on the field and is very cool and calm as a Captain. He’s doing a fantastic job for the team.”
The opening batsman expressed that he worked out his errors with Sivagnanam and Amre and speaks to the Delhi Capitals head coach Ricky Ponting more about tactics as a batsman. “With Ricky, I generally speak to him about tactics and strategies as a batsman. He has played so much of cricket and he has got the experience which he can share with us and he does especially with the youngsters. I am really enjoying working with him,” he added.
