In his very first outing of the season, Kings XI Punjab’s Manan Vohra showed no signs of nerves as he raced to a 20-ball 47, but the youngster revealed that he was under a lot of pressure but did not want to waste the opportunity.
“To be honest, there was a lot of pressure, but I took it as an opportunity. I knew if I do well from here after being retained, then my graph can go really high,” said Vohra after Kings XI Punjab chased down 205-run target to beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets in their IPl match here last night.
“I was just waiting for one chance to go out in the middle and play. It was a bit frustrating to be out of action and watch the team perform from the sidelines. It is a great opportunity for young boys like me to come out and do well here. I was waiting for this day badly and I am glad I got the chance,” 20-year-old told IPl’s official website.
Vohra admitted that he was initially afraid of facing South Africa’s legendary pacer Dale Steyn. “The first ball that I faced of Steyn, I could not move my feet. I was afraid of him. I told myself that there was no point getting scared and I had to play him. I had practiced playing a lot of short stuff in the nets, and when he bowled short to me, I decided that I would back myself and go for my shots. It worked,” he said.
Asked how much of a motivation is it for a youngster to have the likes of Virender Sehwag, Glenn Maxwell and David Miller in the dressing room, Vohra said, “By having players like them, the job for the youngsters becomes a lot easier. There is no pressure on us to perform since we know they will cover up and score at a brisk pace. We have just been asked to go and enjoy ourselves on a given day, which helps us to do well.”
Talking about Maxwell, Vohra said, “He is too good a player and a very aggressive hitter. The way he approaches the game is brilliant. He backs himself every single time and that is something I want to learn from him. He has only one style of playing, and we all know what that is.”
Vohra said he was more keen on playing Test cricket. “I enjoy playing the longest format of the game. I am still young and I would want improve my technique and get accustomed to the Test style of playing,” he said.
Ojha wants to stay at 3
Wicketkeeper-batsman Naman Ojha, who hit an unbeaten 36-ball 79 against Punjab has said that he is enjoying batting at No.3 for Hyderabad and would like to continue at the same position as it gives him an opportunity to build the innings.
“I would love to continue batting at No.3. I am enjoying that responsibility of building an innings and scoring when needed the most. When I play at No.5 or 6, it gets difficult to hit from ball-one, whereas I have the time to shape my innings when I bat at the top,” Ojha said after Sunrisers’ lost.
“Bowlers at the death, at times, bowl in the block hole, which gets difficult for a batsman to hit; whereas, at the top of the innings when the field restrictions are still on, there is a scope to score more freely,” he said.
Ojha also said that he would have been happier had the result gone Sunrisers’ way.
“I enjoyed my batting a lot. I would have loved it even more if the result had gone our way, but things like these are a part and parcel of the game, and one needs to move on. We know we gave our 100 per cent on the field and we are happy with that,” he said.