“I’ve been hungry to finish off games like that” - Tim David after heroics against Rajasthan Royals

Mumbai Indians (MI) batter Tim David has stated that it was an amazing feeling to finish the game against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) with three sixes as he was hungry to do something like that.

Mumbai beat Rajasthan by six wickets in match number 42 of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday, April 30. Chasing a target of 213, MI needed 17 runs to win off the last over bowled by Jason Holder.

David (45* off 14) received three consecutive full-tosses from Jason Holder and muscled them all for sixes to pull off an incredible win for Mumbai in IPL’s 1000th match.

In the post-match press conference, David reflected on his special batting effort. He said:

“I’ve been hungry. Haven’t finished like that, so it was amazing. The team’s so excited. The other boys have been putting in big performances and I’ve been waiting for my chance. I am really pleased I took it. I’ve been hungry to finish off games like that. It plays on your mind because you want to do it. Trying to stay in the present and just enjoy it when it comes.”

The 27-year-old has a penchant for six-hitting and has already slammed 12 sixes in 93 balls he faced in the ongoing IPL edition. While he makes it look easy out in the middle, David admitted that a lot of hard work has gone into developing the skill. He elaborated:

“It hasn’t come easily and it hasn’t felt like it is coming easy so far this season. When you get in that momentum, you’ve got to run with the moment. I’ve been putting in some really hard work on the training field in the last few weeks.

“I am grateful to the support staff and Polly’s [Kieron Pollard] a big part of it. Lot of conversation and then just trying to relax and enjoy the game.”

David has so far scored 158 runs in eight matches at an average of 39.50 and a strike rate of 169.89.

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“We believe we can chase anything down” - Tim David

Although Mumbai lost skipper Rohit Sharma (3) early in the big chase, they kept going at Rajasthan’s bowling to ensure they did not fall too far behind the asking rate.

Cameron Green (44 off 26) and Suryakumar Yadav (55 off 29) played excellent knocks to keep MI in the hunt. Sharing his thoughts on the chase, David commented:

“When batting conditions are so good at the Wankhede, we believe we can chase anything down, especially with the power that we have throughout the batting order. We saw Surya [Suryakumar Yadav] come out tonight and play an amazing innings. We get accustomed to expecting that from him, but that was something special.

“I try not to think of it too much - no fixed number. Just try and get that feeling when I go out to bat. It doesn’t come off every day, so I think I am going to enjoy this one.”

David and Tilak Varma (29* off 21) added an unbroken 62 for the fifth wicket as MI got home in 19.3 overs.