Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder Marcus Stoinis on Sunday (November 8) showered rich praise on Shikhar Dhawan, saying the veteran opener’s influence as a performer and “leader” can’t be overlooked.
Dhawan, with 603 runs, and Stoinis, with 352 runs and 12 wickets, have been the two best performers for Capitals as the franchise qualified for their maiden IPL final with a 17-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Qualifier 2.
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“Shikhar’s been unbelievable and made some big hundreds. Even in the matches he has missed out, he has timed the ball well. He has really led the way for us this year,” Stoinis said at the post-match press conference.
Stoinis himself has learnt a lot from Dhawan when it comes to adapting to various situations.
“He (Dhawan) is a leader within the team. He brings in a lot of energy and shares a lot of knowledge. He has really been good to me throughout this campaign. I am really proud of him.
“He has made 600-plus runs this year. Hopefully, he has one big knock in the final left in him,” said Stoinis, who scored 27-ball 38 while opening the innings against SRH in Qualifier 2 at Abu Dhabi.
Stoinis was promoted at the top after Prithvi Shaw’s repeated failure to get to double digits.
“Ricky (Ponting) had spoken to me a couple of times about the possibilities of opening the batting. It just worked out and we thought this was the game to do it. In one of the games, I batted at No.3 and it didn’t come off as we were chasing 220,” he recalled.
Marcus Stoinis also did a great job with the ball as he dismissed Manish Pandey and the dangerous Kane Williamson at the right time in his spell of 3 for 26 in four overs.
“Bowling in this format is always hard and it’s more about planning and having a good idea before you get to the ground.”
For Stoinis, the basic idea of T20 bowling, more than taking wickets, is containment.
“Just be clear that in T20, you are not always trying to take wickets but control the run-rate and controlling the game builds some pressure.”
With this victory, Delhi Capitals secured their final berth and will face the Rohit-Sharma led Mumbai Indians (MI) in the summit clash on November 10.
Asked about the big final, Stoinis said there won’t be too much tinkering with the gameplan.
“Preparations will be the same as usual. When big games are coming up, more important to stick to your usual strategies and routines, MI are a great team and they have been consistent all season, beaten us thrice.
“We will just bring out our best game of cricket and play our best. I reckon that will be good enough,” he remarked.
(With PTI inputs)
