Published: May 21, 2015, 10:37 PM (IST)
Edited: May 21, 2015, 10:37 PM (IST)
Pune: After watching AB de Villiers from close quarters as he smashed a 38-ball 66 against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015 Eliminator on Wednesday night, Mandeep Singh says he has learnt a lot from the South African including how to keep one’s head still while playing a shot. IPL 2015 Highest run-scorer: List of best batsmen in IPL 8
“There are a lot of things that I try to do like AB. I want to have my head still the way he does in each shot. I have learnt a lot from him already and whatever he has taught me, I have straightaway incorporated those things in my game. It is already helping me in my game and I can see a lot of positive results in my batting,” Mandeep was quoted as saying by iplt20.com on Thursday after he and de Villiers had shared a 113-run partnership in the game against the Royals. IPL 2015 Highest wicket-taker: List of best bowlers in IPL 8
“I have worked on the balance of my head. Initially when I was playing my shots, the completion of the shot would end with my head leaning towards the off-stump. I spoke to him regarding the same and asked him for suggestions to improve that aspect. I initially used to think that the arms go wider while playing your shots and that’s the reason your head tends to fall,” he said. IPL 2015 Most 6s and 4s: List of most dangerous batsmen in IPL 8
“He cleared that cloud around me and asked me to have my head still around the middle stump after the completion of a shot. These are very technical details but these are the things that I have learnt and am trying to improve on,” he said. Against the Royals, Mandeep remained unbeaten on 54 from 34 balls to help his side post a formidable 180 for four which Rajasthan failed to chase down. IPL 2015 Leading fielders: List of Best fielders in IPL 8
“This half century is very satisfying because we wanted to get a score of 150 plus on this pitch and I was happy to stay there right till the very end,” he said. “De Villiers and I thought that anything around 150 would be great and finishing on 180 was very satisfying. I think the occasion of this innings makes it a lot more valuable. Getting an important knock in the eliminator is really heartening because it was a big occasion. I feel I played really well in this game,” he said. IPL 2015 most dismissals by wicketkeeper: List of best wicketkeeper in IPL 8
Speaking about sharing batting space with de Villiers in the century stand, Mandeep said: “When we were just around 60 runs in 10 overs, we just wanted to bat and try to build a partnership from there on. We wanted to keep things simple and watch the ball closely and hit it. I knew if AB spent a little more time in the middle, he would get ruthless in the end. I had the confidence that A.B. would see us through.” Mandeep added, “I think even modern day cricketers consider him his idol. It is like a dream come true to be playing with him.” Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015: Complete coverage
