Last Updated on 9 months by Charbel Coorey
Cricket News: Rassie van der Dussen shares tips on batting in the middle in T20s | Rassie van der Dussen on batting in positions 4 and 5 in T20s
Rassie van der Dussen, one of South Africa’s most consistent batsmen in recent years, along with the in form David Miller, led the Proteas to a morale-boosting seven-wicket win over India in the first T20I at Delhi. It was an innings that showed just the kind of player van der Dussen is, ensuring he didn’t panic along the way in a big run chase.
Earlier this year, Rassie gave some insight into what life is like batting in the middle in T20s. In an exclusive interview with CricBlog, he said that getting a feel for the game right away is crucial when batting in the number four and five positions.
“You firstly have to assess the intensity of the match and where it is”, he said. “You can obviously walk in in the second or third over, or walk in in the 17th or 18th over, so to be able to realise what’s needed of you in the moment; that’s something I always consciously do when I go in.
“I try to work out how many balls I’ve got left to face and plan my innings accordingly.”
You need to have the know how and the skill to be able to execute – Rassie van der Dussen
The South African batsman then spoke about the importance of executing your skills when batting in the middle. He said it’s one thing to assess where the game is at, but to act on it is a whole different challenge.
“You have to have the skill to adapt,” he said. “Whether it’s coming in against the new ball in the powerplay, you need to have the skill to clear the inner ring and negate the moving ball. If you’re coming in the middle overs, you need to be able to rotate spin from the get go and make sure your boundary options are lower risk but clear.
“And obviously if you’re coming in at the death, you need to be able to clear the ropes within three or four balls. Once you have these skills, it’s about the mental blueprint you need to find in your own mind in terms of when you enter the match.”
van der Dussen scored 71* off 46 balls against India in the 1st T20I in Delhi
After crawling to 30 off 31 balls, van der Dussen then exploded to hit 41 off his next 15 to guide South Africa to victory in their run chase of 212 in Delhi. Speaking to the media after the match, he said the dropped catch by Shreyas Iyer was his wake up call to get going.
“When Shreyas dropped it, I knew I had to make them pay because I took the balls to get myself in,” he said.
“I think I had put myself and the team under a bit of pressure by not being able to get boundaries early on in my innings,” van der Dussen said. “But it wasn’t through lack of intent, or lack of planning, or lack of clarity of mind. You know, sometimes it just doesn’t come off.”
However, the key was not panicking. With David Miller in career-best touch and going hard, van der Dussen knew that even 14 or 15 an over was gettable with the short boundary.
“We didn’t panic at all. We knew even if the asking rate got up to 14-15, we could use that one short boundary with the right-left combination. We knew we could target the bowlers.”
South Africa, who are considered contenders for this year’s World Cup, will take a 1-0 series lead into the second match against India at Cuttack. If the Proteas perform well again, more will take note of Temba Bavuma’s team as a real force in T20I cricket.
