Batting at number four gave me confidence: Sameer Rizvi

Young Delhi Capitals batter Sameer Rizvi grabbed the the opportunity to bat at number four with both hands and said his only focus now is to maintain the consistency going forward in the IPL.

Rizvi gave ample display of his talent, coming in as an ‘Impact Player’ to help Delhi Capitals get past Lucknow Super Giants by six wickets after a shaky start.

Chasing 142, DC were reduced to 26 for 4 within first five overs but Rizvi (70 not out off 47 balls), coming in for T Natarajan, conjured an unbroken 119-run stand for the fifth wicket with the seasoned Tristan Stubbs (39 not out off 32 balls) to chase down the target in just 17.1 overs.

Rizvi showed exemplary maturity during his knock and hit five fours and four sixes on a tricky track.

“Coaches told me before that you will play at No.4 position and we will back you. You just play your natural, positive game,” said the 22-year-old Uttar Pradesh cricketer.

“Whenever I play for UP or in UPT20 league, I bat at no.4 and if you get to bat at the same position in IPL it gives a lot of confidence. It is a big opportunity for me and they (coaches) are also giving me freedom to play my natural game. So I just make my mindset to grab these opportunities.”

“I haven’t played many innings in IPL but I will always try to be consistent. I will try to forget this innings and focus on the next match.”

It was a second successive fifty plus score for Rizvi in the IPL, having closed out last season with a half-century.

Talking about the run chase and his partnership with Stubbs, Rizvi said they decided to bat according to the situation of the game.

“The intent from the start was to play positive cricket but once we were down four wickets we decided to slow down a bit and take our time, read the wicket because the chase was not that big.

“I have played 2-3 innings earlier with Stubbs. He keeps it very simple, plays according to situation.”

Rizvi said having played a lot of cricket here in his home ground, it helped him a lot during his unbeaten knock.

“Any player playing in his hometown will have an idea about the boundaries, conditions, atmosphere and it helps a lot.”

The right-hander said the wicket was not easy to bat against fast bowlers.

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“The ball was swinging a lot so it was difficult to score runs against fast bowlers, so plan was to attack spinners and score big against them. If the ball is there we will hit.

“The wicket was a bit sticky, the ball was swinging and seaming, so it was a bit tough for batsmen to play fast bowlers. So it was necessary to take some time in the middle.”