Dhruv Shorey walked into bat when Delhi was struggling on the opening day of the Ranji Trophy final. But the 25-year-old kept his cool and slammed an unbeaten ton to put the pressure back on Vidarbha.
Talking to scribes after the day’s play, Shorey admitted that it was important to remain calm and composed in the middle.
READ: Ranji Trophy final: Shorey ton stalls Vidarbha’s charge
Excerpts…
How would you see your innings?
It was all about taking my time. In these wickets, you have to take your time because if you don't take your time and go for the shots, you may lose your wicket. I gave respect to the bowlers (initially) and after that it was my session.
How does the condition look? Is the surface helping the batsmen?
It’s not too bad. But we could have done better. We lost two extra wickets, but we can still revive and we do have a long tail. Let’s see how it goes.
This season, you could not convert your starts. What was going wrong all this while?
Yeah, I was getting out a lot on 80s, 90s, but I was batting well, so I backed myself and it paid off really well.
Was it kind of easy to bat on the surface before the new ball was taken?
It became easy. The ball was not that new; it was not hard. So the ball was coming on to the bat. In the later part of the day, it was doing a bit. It did not reverse much.
While you two were batting, Himmat Singh went for the strokes and you were holding forte. What was the strategy?
Himmat is a natural stroke player. One has to hold one end, I know my role. I have to be standing at one end, and he is a good stroke-maker. He has been playing with me for long, we have studied in the same school. He plays well.
Delhi is six wickets down, so what would the target be when you walk into bat on Saturday?
Bat, bat and bat. The target is simple — bat and score as much as we can.
Your team has a long tail. Is that a concern?
The bowlers do bat on and off. They need to support me and I am the one who needs to do the scoring. I am sure they will support me.
But then, you are known as a stroke-maker…
Playing in Delhi, we are used to lot of 40-50 overs cricket, so we are strokemakers. But today, I had to hold back because the wickets were falling so I had to check my game. These situations are challenging, the wicket was doing a lot and I am happy that it paid off. It is always special to score a century in Ranji Trophy final. All this while I was batting well but was not being able to reach a century. I am really happy.
You tried stitching partnerships with Rishabh Pant and Himmat Singh. What was the discussion in the middle?
We need to back our games. Rishabh and Himmat are natural stroke-makers, especially Rishabh. You can't change your game immediately. Everyone has seen him play, I don't need to say anything. Rishabh is a brilliant stroke-maker, and even Himmat has played well.
Of the three, you are the senior most. Did they ask the bhaiya what to do?
There is no bhaiya in the middle. Almost everyone is 23-24, so there’s no bhaiya in the team.
Comments
SHARE