Rassie van der Dussen's superb unbeaten 75 in the Proteas victory over India in New Delhi shows that there is great value in an IPL stint even if a player doesn't get on the park much.
Van der Dussen played just three games for the Rajasthan Royals but nonetheless credited the spell with giving him the intel he needed to plot his crucial innings.
He was aided by the presence of David Miller, who did get his game time in for the title-winning Gujarat Titans, but van der Dussen’s big late push ensured the nerves were taken out of a massive chase.
“Myself having watched a lot of IPL games, having not got much of an opportunity to play, [I] had a pretty good idea what their bowlers would do and the conditions [at hand],” Van der Dussen told reporters.
“I spent two months here, been in the conditions, been in the heat, so had acclimatised to that and that goes to everyone. We had a lot of guys in the IPL this year and that’s helped us in the first game to adapt quicker and get over the line.”
Proteas = History makers
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They successfully chase down 211 - the highest total at this ground, to take a 1-0 series lead.
David Miller (64*) and Rassie van der Dussen (75*) combine for 131 runs.#INDvSA pic.twitter.com/24jIjlbh1s
There was some criticism of Cricket South Africa for allowing Proteas stars to prioritise IPL spells over international duty, but these always had the air of misplaced sentimentality.
The IPL has proven a massive boon to the T20 game of India but the sheer scope of the franchise spectacular means that it also serves to enhance the game of players from all over the world.
It is also a credit to van der Dussen that he took time that might have been spent idle or frustrated and used it to his own benefit.
After his performance in New Delhi, van der Dussen’s T20 stock has risen and the Proteas ideal T20 World Cup lineup is taking shape.
