Ahmedabad: Following impressive opening stands in Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals batsman Ajinkya Rahane on Wednesday heaped praise on opening partner Shane Watson, saying they complement each other and enjoy each other's batting.
On Sunday against the Chennai Super Kings, the Royals opening duo put up 144-run partnership for the first wicket to take the game away from CSK. Two days later, they were again at it, putting up a 95-run stand for the first wicket against Kings XI Punjab, a match they went on to lose via the Super Over.
"We complement each other very well and are enjoying each other's batting. When he is playing the big shots my role is to take a single and give him the strike. Similarly if I am scoring then he would give me the strike. We focus on building a partnership and we know that both of us are batting in a good rhythm," Rahane was quoted as saying by iplt20.com.
Rahane is currently the leading run-scorer of IPL 2015 with 305 from six games.
"In the first six overs my intent is to play good and positive cricket. After the first six overs I play the way I do, using the cricketing shots to get the odd boundary and keep rotating the strike and the batsmen bat around me," he said.
The 26-year-old said keeping things simple and staying grounded are keys to his consistency.
"Just keep it simple and stay grounded because these small things take you forward. I start from scratch in each innings and play as the situation demands. And off the field too I maintain the routines and processes," Rahane said.
When asked on how the batsmen were selected for the Super Over against Kings XI, he said, "Rahul (Dravid) bhai, (Coach) Paddy (Upton) and captain (Shane Watson) decided that the strong and big-hitters must be given the opportunity. The three batsmen we sent were perfect for the job and all three had the experience of playing in a situation like this," added the Mumbaikar.
"Last year too we had played in a Super Over, so we had an idea. But credit should be given to Mitchell Johnson as well for the way he bowled in a difficult situation."
