Robin Uthappa, once an upcoming India star, is now only mainly seen plying his blistering batting in the Indian Premier League. But when the Karnataka batsman is on song, there is very little stopping him from making
On Wednesday, he was the chief architect of Kolkata Knight Riders’ comprehensive seven-wicket win over Rising Pune Supergiant – effecting three sharp stumpings and then blasting a 47-ball 87 – an innings that once again showed the immense potential Uthappa possesses.
“I’ve always been strong. I have a lot faith in what I’m doing. I’m really confident and I’m enjoying myself out there,” he said after winning the man-of-the-match.
“It was an important innings. They batted well to get 182 and we pulled things back after the 16th over. They batted well again in the last two overs, so we knew we had to keep the run-rate going even after the first six overs. We could not take our foot off the pedal and were looking to get nine runs from every over and we were in a very good position by the 15th over. All in all, it was a very good day,” he later told iplt20.com.
Talking about his performance behind the stumps, the part-time wicketkeeper said that he was still improving in that department.
“I am enjoying my keeping, I think MS (Dhoni) has set the benchmark for Indian keepers, so I’m slowly but surely getting there.”
Talking about his role in KKR’s season, the 31-year-old also admitted that he dreams of playing for India again.
“It is important to keep performing and I have been doing that. The dream is to play for India again and represent the country in Test matches. The dreams are there but one can’t think too far forward. You want to stay in the present and give your best foot forward. I believe hard work never goes unnoticed. I truly believe my turn will come,” he told iplt20.com.
Uthappa put up a 158-run stand with his captain Gautam Gambhir, which is the second highest for KKR, making the 183-run target look easy.
“Gauti (Gambhir) and I understand each other very well when we are batting. We understand the importance of strike rotation and support each other in that sense. When we take a decision on the field, we really stick to that decision, and when you do that, it works in your favour,” Uthappa said of their partnership.
The win pushed KKR to the top of the table and Uthappa insisted that the team needed to keep the momentum going in the second half of the tournament as well.
“It is very important to respect the momentum we have created for ourselves. Teams tend to fall off in the second half of the tournament,” he said after the match.
Kolkata play Delhi Daredevils next, on Friday at the Eden Gardens.
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