Australia all-rounder Marcus Stonis, who played an instrumental role in Delhi Capitals’ incredible win over Kings XI Punjab in their opening IPL 2020 encounter, has said that all he wants is to express himself and have a lot of fun throughout this year’s tournament.
On Sunday, Stoinis’ quick-fire 53 off 21 balls with the bat and 2-29 with the ball took the match into an exciting Super Over, where the Delhi Capitals secured the win against Kings XI Punjab.
Having proved to be the game-changer in both the innings, Stoinis has said his maturity played a role in the day. “I’ve come in with some confidence through good performances this year, but also maybe putting less responsibility on myself than some other years. Sometimes when you’re young and you’re in a rush, you want to do well and you’re trying so hard.”
“So I think this year I sort of just wanted to express myself and its only one game, so we’ll see, you can turn from a hero to a villain quickly, but yes, my focus is on just having a lot of fun and trust that I’ll be good,” he added.
The 31-year-old all-rounder also said that “going back to basics” has helped him. “I think everyone who plays cricket at this level, the main reason you play it is because you love it. You start playing when you’re a kid, and there’s so much travel, staying away from home and there’s obviously the pressures. But the main reason you do it is that you love what you do. That’s the main ingredient,” he added.
With 17 wickets and 526 runs under his belt in 30 IPL matches, things haven’t always gone according to plan for the Australian, but Stoinis said it is always a rewarding feeling to contribute to wins.
“There are a lot of games, as a professional sportsman, that you go out and you don’t perform as well as you want to. Cricket is that type of game – you sort of getting used to underperforming a lot of the time. So when you do perform and you do well for the team, it’s a very rewarding feeling,” he said.
The limited-overs specialist also said that his team has a “really good vibe”. “With Ricky (Ponting) as a coach and as a leader, he sets that standard. We have a good core of young players, with lots of energy and some good experience. We’ve got some good overseas players too. So I think our balance, on the whole, makes it an exciting group and we’ve got good energy around the team,” Stoinis said.
Stoinis will look to maintain his form when Delhi Capitals take on Chennai Super Kings at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Friday.
