I focused and applied myself: Hiken Shah
First Published : 03 Dec 2012, 20:24
Last Modified : 03 Dec 2012, 20:24
Mumbai, Dec 3: Hiken Shah who scored 118 runs against Bengal in the ongoing Ranji Trophy match at Brabourne Stadium was pleased with his effort that helped the home team set the opposition a competitive target. The No.3 batsman scored his third century in three matches in the ongoing season and has been in glorious form since before the prestigious tournament commenced. Shah earlier scored 140 and 156 against Rajasthan and Hyderabad respectively in away matches for Mumbai. He also scored 92 against the visiting England XI side and three more centuries (105, 105, 107 against Hyderabad XI, Rajasthan XI, KSCA XI) for MCA XI.
Speaking to the media after stumps, Shah talked about his batting and recent good form.
Excerpts from his media interaction:
On his innings and form this season
To play for Mumbai, every game is important. You can’t take any game lightly. For me, last few years were really tough. I just kept telling myself [that] every chance I get, I should make it count. You have to be consistent when you play for Mumbai. I was not as consistent as I would have liked to be in the last few years. This year I have to thank god that everything is going well for me.
On whether he did anything different in the off-season
I did a bit of yoga, which really helped me. I’ve been much more focussed this year. I did nothing with my cricketing skills, but mentally yes [I worked on it].
On whether and how different the conditions were today
The pitch is a bit slow now, but it’s not easy to score runs basically. You have to wait for the loose ball, which I did so it’s not easy to just go there and score runs.
On which of the three hundreds that he scored in a row was his best
This innings satisfied me a lot. It was a green top and a bowler-friendly pitch basically. I had to apply, focus hard and [I] managed to score a hundred.
On how crucial this innings was
For me, every inning is crucial. Whatever chances I get I have to make most of it. The basic plan was to watch the ball and keep playing. There was no target set by the coach or the captain. We just played according to the merit of the ball.
On their game plan tomorrow
The first session will be crucial, the bowler will have to bowl in the right areas. The pitch is doing a bit, so the bowler will have to bowl in the right areas.
On whether getting runs against England XI earlier helped
It’s a great booster for me, if you play against an international side and get runs it gives you a lot of confidence, Anderson and Broad etc gave me a lot of confidence.
