NEWS
Follow UsThe last six months has been nothing short of sensational for Vijay Shankar, who has turned a corner since his return to the Tamil Nadu side in Ranji Trophy. In the seven games that the right-hander played in the longest format, he was influential with 483 runs, including three centuries and an average of above 50.
Shankar continued his sizzling run in the 2023 IPL, with 287 runs, averaging 41 and a strike-rate of 161.24. Even in the crunch clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), the Tamil Nadu batter came in at a crucial juncture, with a 35-ball 53, a knock that was laced with seven fours, and two sixes.
But the biggest task is, facing CSK in Chennai, and Shankar admitted that the match is “really special”. Shankar himself has previously been part of the CSK unit, and knows the crowd in Chennai inside out, given the number of games that he has played at the venue.
“Chasing 200 here, we paced it pretty well. We've been playing good cricket, and we have bowlers among the top wicket-takers. It's just about taking game by game. To face CSK in Chennai will be really special,” Shankar said in the post-match presentation.
The right-hander was struggling early on in the innings, and then a chat with Shubman Gill changed everything for the Tamil Nadu man. On the run-chase, Shankar rued that he couldn’t finish the game, and stated that Shubman was batting on a different surface here.
“The way we chased was really satisfying. Personally I should have finished it. It wasn't that easy with the new ball I felt... that was the reason why we couldn't find many gaps along the ground. But Shubman showed everyone how to bat on different wickets,” he added.
Due to the Impact Player rule, the all-rounder has not bowled a single ball in this edition of the tournament. But that doesn’t prevent him from practicing and bowling in the nets.
“[Him not bowling] I've been practising and bowling in the nets. With the current role, we already have six bowlers. We have the firepower... any total can be chased.”
