It’s not just Indian cricket that is benefiting from this IPL alone. The foreign players participating in the annual league are adapting to the Indian conditions and are training their bowlers well by joining the annual T20 competition.
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A host of South African cricketers were part of the IPL 2022 that ended late last month and all of them are now facing India in the five-match T20I series that began on Thursday. Even if the players get to play a few matches, it is enough for them to gain invaluable knowledge of the different conditions and tactics domestic bowlers usually operate under different match conditions.
Rassi van der Dussen has done exactly that as he was a part of Rajasthan Royals who finished as runners-up in IPL 2022. He played just three matches through the campaign but stayed in. India Gave them experience in handling situations.
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“Definitely (IPL has helped). I watched a lot of IPL games, didn’t get much chance to play, but I had a pretty good idea of what their bowlers would do and what the conditions would be,” van der Dussen said at the post-match press conference.
“Indian conditions are different from what we have in South Africa. I spent two months here, being in these conditions, being in the heat, so got used to it and it goes for everyone,” he said.
Chasing 212, van der Dussen scored an unbeaten 75 off 46 balls and teamed up with David Miller (64) to help South Africa win by seven wickets. The pair formed an unbroken partnership of 75 runs.
“We had a lot of guys in the IPL this year and that helped us adapt quickly and get on the line in the first game.”
Van der Dussen, however, struggled early in his innings.
“I was struggling 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 carried me.
“He hit one or two sixes and the momentum shifted towards us. I was clearly lucky, you have to admit it. But luck is part of the game. When I was kicked out, I knew I would have to pay India,” he said.
The 33-year-old’s luck was on his side when he was dismissed for 29 in the 16th over by Shreyas Iyer.
“I felt the pressure, not being able to get boundaries early, but I think it was not because of lack of intention or planning. Sometimes it just doesn’t come out. I was lucky, if Shreyas had caught that ball, it could have been a different game, having said that, we had a lot of batting coming after that,” he said.
“What was important to me was that when he dropped it, I knew I had to pay him because I took the balls and it was a wicket that got easier once you came in,” he said.
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