Gujarat Titans all-rounder Vijay Shankar revealed that he worked hard physically and mentally to get his form back in cricket after a surgery post-IPL 2022 and credited Gujarat Titans coach Gary Kirsten for his valuable inputs to improve his batting.
Vijay Shankar was in prime form against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as he scored an unbeaten 51 off 24 balls, including five sixes to help his team to chase down a total of 180 runs with 13 balls to spare at the iconic Eden Gardens on Saturday.
With Gujarat Titans struggling at 93-3 in the 11th over mark, Vijay Shankar and David Miller built slow partnerships before taking KKR bowlers all around the park in Kolkata. Speaking to ipl.tv, Vijay Shankar spoke about the rebuilding phase post-IPL 2022, where he worked hard to get his form back in IPL 2023, and also imputed his success to Gary Kirsten for his input in the practice sessions.
From making an impactful comeback to acing the chase in presence of family ?
Presenting chase special from Kolkata ft. @vijayshankar260 & @DavidMillerSA12 ???? – By @28anand
Full Interview ?? #TATAIPL | #KKRvGT https://t.co/8v33Xxs1C1 pic.twitter.com/z9z9f2RfV5
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 30, 2023
“Yeah. After the last time, I was out for like six months with surgery. So I had a lot of things to work on not just physically but also a lot of mental state of our cricket because which is very important I feel especially and any international cricket, you know, you need to be mentally strong to come back. And you know, I was working with Gary (Kirsten) here. He told me a few things where I felt, especially the backswing that I wasn’t getting,” Vijay Shankar said
Shankar’s blistering innings helped Gujarat Titans chase down the total in 17.5 overs as he accelerated his KKR spinner Varun Chakravarthy in his final overs taking him for 3 sixes to rule KKR completely out the game in the 17th over.
So far in IPL 2023, Vijay Shankar has scored 199 runs at an average of 49.75 with a strike rate of over 160 from his six games in the league. Coming into IPL, Vijay Shankar had a fantastic domestic season for Tamil Nadu scoring 483 runs with three centuries and averaging 53.66 in the 2022-23 season.
Hardik Wants To Come Out Good In Difficult Situations – Vijay Shankar
Vijay Shankar hailed their Skipper Hardik Pandya for being aggressive on the field and putting on some fine form for the defending champions from a tough situation citing the example of him leading from the front with the ball against Mumbai Indians picking up the important wickets of Rohit Sharma and his well-composed knock against Lucknow Super Giants on a tough Ekana Wicket.
“Hardik is aggressive. He wants a find a way to come out good in difficult situations. He always wants to do it for the team. He takes the new ball. He has delivered it when we needed the wicket of Rohit Sharma against Mumbai Indians,” Vijay Shankar added.
Defending Champions Gujarat Titans are on the verge of qualifying for the playoffs for the second consecutive time as their currently at the top of the points table with six wins from eight games in the league stage.