Mumbai Indians will now play Gujarat Lions in Rajkot on Saturday. (Source: PTI)
The fact that Parthiv Patel has been Mumbai Indians most consistent batsmen in this IPL can be gauged from the fact that he is the only the batsman to feature in the list of top 10 run-getters in IPL 10. Parthiv loves to open the innings and has been consistent at the top of the order but remains as the unsung hero among the star-studded line-up of the Mumbai Indians. With a quite demeanour Parthiv has gone about his business briskly and not made much noise about it.
Parthiv, who has had a roller coaster ride, with MI was in the 2015 IPL, the fourth-highest scorer for Mumbai Indians. However, earlier he failed to secure a spot for himself in the MI side as he also played for (now defunct) Chennai Super Kings.
But in this edition, he has finally come of age and in the 15 innings so far he has scored 391 runs at an average of 26.07 with a strike rate of 136.24. Most importantly while batting at the top of the order he has hit 49 boundaries and 8 maximums.
Speaking about the pressure of opening the innings and batting at the top of the order, Parthiv told TOI, “There is always pressure when you play in the first six overs. You have to take chances and you have to make sure that you don’t get out also. First six overs are always the most difficult overs to bat.”
“But that’s how I have been batting since the last 10 years. I enjoy batting in the first six overs. First six overs usually set up the game as they are the most important part of the innings. There is a lot of responsibility when you are opening the innings. There is pressure because you have to make sure that you hit boundaries, rotate the strike and not get out. That’s a kind of pressure but I enjoy it.”
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