Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, who shined with the bat in the match against Sri Lanka at T20 World Cup 2022 on Tuesday, has credited the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the transformation in his attitude against spinners.
Notably, Stoinis is generally a bit tentative against spin, but in the fixture against the Islanders in Perth, he tore apart the tweakers Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana to ensure a dominating seven-wicket triumph for the defending champions.
Stoinis said his game has evolved after playing in the cash-rich league as one gets the opportunity to be coached by the best and share the change room with legendary cricketers.
“Yeah, definitely, the IPL has changed my cricket and helped me evolve. And it’s not only playing on the wickets, it’s having coaches from all over the world, having players from different countries. I’ve played for quite a few years in the IPL and quite a few teams, so you come across a range of techniques and mentalities about how to play spin. Yeah, it has helped me improve for sure,” said Stoinis in the post-match press conference.
Notably, the contest seemed lacklustre for the hosts, especially during the middle overs, but Stoinis’ fireworks turned the game on its head. The Western Australian smashed the fastest half-century for his side and remained unbeaten at 59 off 18 balls. While the home team were in a spot of bother at one stage, Stoinis denied that his side were still having some doubts following the big defeat in the tournament opener against New Zealand.
“I don’t think we felt flat, to be honest. I think it felt like we bowled pretty well. I felt like we bowled well in the powerplay. There were a few balls up in the air that fell in gaps and that sort of stuff. I think we’re pretty happy with how we bowled. Yeah, there’s definitely things we can tidy up, you tidy up three or four balls in the game, and it could be the difference of 18 runs sort of thing. Yeah, it’ll just be little things that we review,” added Stoinis.
