NEW DELHI:
Jake Fraser-McGurk
, a rookie batting star for the Delhi Capitals, attributes his ability to manage his jitters on his IPL debut to coach
Ricky Ponting
, who told him to time the ball rather than swing the bat wildly.
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The 22-year-old Fraser-McGurk made his debut on Friday against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Fraser-McGurk, who now owns the record for the fastest century in 29 balls for a List A side, grabbed hold of the chance and blasted a 35-ball 55 to set up their six-wicket victory, which enabled them to climb up the standings.
"My instincts are aggressive, but before I went out to bat, Ricky said just focus on the timing, middle the ball, don't try to hit it too hard," said the Victorian.
"That sort of helped me ease my nerves, went out there and had a great innings, and hopefully continue doing it."
He began by hitting six off
Yash Thakur
in the very second ball he faced, then he hammered
Arshad Khan
for a 96-metre six.
But his biggest assault came against India spin bowling all-rounder
Krunal Pandya
when he spanked him for three sixes in a row to virtually kill the contest.
"It's just the same thing I've been doing in every other game for the last eight months -- watch the ball, react to it and play to your instinct," Fraser-McGurk, who struck five sixes and two fours during his innings, spoke about his approach.
The young Australian top-order hitter, who has played in two ODIs, was signed at his base price of Rs 50 lakh to replace Lungi Ngidi after the player failed to sell at the auction.
The young player participated in three ILT20 matches for the Dubai Capitals this season before to the IPL, where he scored 109 runs at a strike rate of 213.72 in his three innings.
A surreal moment
"It was a surreal moment, obviously it hadn't sunk in yet playing in the IPL. It's just an amazing team and organisation to be part of," an elated Jake added while talking about his memorable debut.
"It's an amazing feeling being able to contribute to Delhi Capitals' win and hopefully we keep this going. The atmosphere out here is unbelievable, stadiums are massive, so many people and always loud. It's a lot different to back home," he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
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