South African batter Ryan Rickelton seems to have finally found his rhythm in the Indian Premier League after a challenging start to his debut campaign. Playing for Mumbai Indians, Rickelton faced a tough initiation to the competition with scores of 13 and 6 in his first two outings. However, the talented batsman turned things around spectacularly on Monday, delivering a match-winning performance that propelled Mumbai Indians to their first victory of the season. His knock of 62 not out proved invaluable as MI rocked to their first win of the tournament.
“Obviously, a massive relief. The first two games were tricky, on some tough wickets, but to get out here in Mumbai, have Spencer (KKR bowler) turn me inside out was quite a tough battle to get through. But once I managed to get through that it was really pleasing to get a score. Bit more relief than anything. And, obviously, to get two points on the board is great for the team,” Rickelton said in the press conference.
Rickelton, who during his unbeaten knock hit four boundaries and five sixes, also spoke on the nature of the pitch.
“It was harder than I anticipated it to be. I knew it was going to swing around a little bit. I didn't expect it to do that much for a period of time. Throughout the whole 40 overs it was a bit sticky. Our bowlers adjusted really well and our batters adjusted really well too.”
Rickelton also praised Ashwani Kumar for his incredibly powerful bowling performance.
“He's a really nice bowler and he got an opportunity today. He can swing the new ball, and he executed his plan really well. So, I'm very happy for him."
“It's cool that he got an opportunity and the group's really chuffed that he managed to get a Player of the Match performance today. He's got some great skills, so I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes in the rest of the competition,” he said.