Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], April 16 : Ahead of his side's Indian Premier League (IPL) match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Gujarat Titans (GT) batter Glenn Phillips spoke on not being able to convert his starts into big scores, pointing out that he has batted in different situations, which has made it harder for him to score consistently, with his role varying from either making most of the few balls left or putting a partnership in case wickets fall early.
GT, who have won two of their past matches after starting the tournament with two losses, will be aiming to make it three wins in five games against a winless KKR at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In three innings for GT, he has made 42 runs at an average of 21.00 and a strike rate of 140.00, with best score of 21. Overall in his IPL career, he has made 107 runs in 11 innings at an average of 11.88, with a strike rate of 125.88, including a best score of 25.
Speaking during the pre-match presser, he said that he has been in different situations while batting.
"I have been in completely different situations, I have played on some rubbish pitches in Dubai, I have been in situations where I have come in with 6 balls to go. It is pretty hard to score big scores in those sorts of environments, and obviously, maybe when you do get the opportunity to go big that day, maybe it is not your day," he said.
"It is a little bit of a tough environment to, I guess, score big and score consistently, but for me, I think it is about trying to contribute to the team and what the team requires of me at the time. If it means like the other day that I do not bat at all, fantastic if the team is winning and if it means that I need to go in with 4 balls to face hopefully I can hit a boundary off one of those but if on the day maybe we have a tough pitch where I have got to potentially knuckle down and get us to a bit more of a score then hopefully that can be a little bit of a situation where we do kick on a bit more. It is just trying to be as consistent in whatever role I am given to play on that particular day," he added.
On the lack of consistency so far, Phillips pointed out that they have won their past two games against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals (DC), and the IPL is a very tough tournament to be consistent for a long period of time.
"We have won the last two games in a row, looks consistent to me. It is a very tough tournament. It is very hard to stay consistent for a long period of time. We're doing a lot of things well. We are working hard at trainings. We are doing as much as possible to prepare ourselves for the games. Obviously, every team is very strong in their own right. We go out there, and we try our best on each given day, and hopefully, we bring away some results as well," he added.
On working with the batting coach and the former Australian opener Matthew Hayden, he said that Hayden is an "incredible wealth of knowledge".
"He was a very process-driven player when he was back playing in his heyday. So for me to be able to pick his brain, mainly around the process and mindset piece that he used to go out there with, obviously, a very different time, but mental skills is mental skills at the end of the day," Phillips said.
"Obviously, when we come into a tournament like this, we all bring out certain skill sets and sometimes the most that you can give as a coach to players that you haven't been around the most is actually from that mental skills perspective. So understanding what brings you into that process zone gives you the best chance of performing, and I guess also in a tournament like the IPL, where momentum and confidence is key, trying to be able to find a way to stay level and confident the whole way through. So he's been phenomenal for that," he concluded.
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