CHENNAI: Knowing that you are good rather than just being good, and retaliating at the right time after soaking up the pressure have been imperative to Nehal Wadhera’s success with Punjab Kings in this IPL season.
From being a floater with Mumbai Indians, this year, he has been the designated middle-order batter for Punjab and Wadhera showed why he could be successful in the role during the clash against Royal Challengers Bengaluru last week. Coming in at 52/3 in a tricky chase of 96, Wadhera smashed an unbeaten 19-ball 33 to take his team across the line in the rain-curtailed encounter.
Recounting that knock during a media interaction, the youngster said how he wants to thrive under pressure for it is the only way forward. “(Before coming to bat) The coach (Ricky Ponting) came to me and he told me that ‘Nihal, we just need to run a ball. You can just go easy. But as soon as I went inside, I felt that RCB had put a lot of pressure on us at that time. So, I thought that now that I have come inside, it was my responsibility to give that pressure back to the RCB bowlers,” said the 24-year old. “I have understood that those who have won matches in tough situations have played for India. You know, match winners get to play for India. And it was a very good opportunity for me to prove myself,” he added.
