In the recently concluded first T20I match between India and South Africa, Van der Dussen smashed 75 off 46 balls and helped his team to chase a target of 212.
Van der Dussen, who played only three games for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2022, expressed that his experience of watching close games from the dug-out was invaluable. Staying in India for the past couple of months helped the majority of the South African players to cope with extreme conditions, while also providing them with a fair idea as to how to tackle the Indian bowlers.
"Definitely (IPL has helped). I watched a lot of IPL games, did not get much of an opportunity to play but I had a pretty good idea what their bowlers would do and the conditions," van der Dussen said.
"Indian conditions are different from what we have in South Africa. I spent two months here, been in these conditions, been in the heat, so had acclimatized to that and that goes for everyone," he added.
The likes of Quinton de Kock, David Miller, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje were all part of the league this season, which was played entirely in India.
"We had a lot of guys in the IPL this year and that's helped us in the first game to adapt quickly and get over the line."
Van der Dussen, who stitched a match-winning partnership with Miller, had initially struggled in his unbeaten 75-run knock.
"I struggled to get the pace of the wicket, I was under pressure. But David continued his form from the IPL and played brilliant innings, put pressure on the bowlers, and just pulled me through.
"He hit one or two sixes and the momentum swung towards us. I was lucky, you got to acknowledge that. But luck is the part of the game."
"When I was dropped, I knew I had to make India pay"
The 33-year-old right-hander had a slice of luck going his way after his initial struggle with the bat as he was dropped by Shreyas Iyer on 29 in the 16th over.
"I did feel under pressure, not being able to get boundaries early on but I think it wasn't due to lack of intent or planning. Sometimes it just doesn't come off.
"I was lucky, if Shreyas would have caught that ball it might have been a different game, saying that, we had a lot of batting coming in after that."
But once Van der Dussen got a second life knew he had to make it count as he had already dealt with the tough part of settling in on the tricky wicket.
"The key for me was that when he dropped it, I knew I had to make them pay because I took balls to get in and it was a wicket that got easier once you get in," he added.
(Inputs by PTI)
