Mumbai, February 8 USA bowler Shadley van Schalkwyk said it is essential for associate nation cricketers to prepare thoroughly, adding that his team surprised India with their field placements in the T20 World Cup opener here.
Van Schalkwyk took 4-0-25-4 wickets, with his three-wicket burst in the sixth over leaving India struggling at 46 for four at the end of the powerplay.
"As associate cricketers, which everyone refers to, we pride ourselves on being good cricketers, firstly. So we do our homework. We have to ... because we don't often get to play on the biggest stage. It's critical for us to do our homework very well for teams that we play against. We also trust the plans,” he told reporters after the match.
“We have players who have played here before. We have players sitting behind the computer, who tell us the stats and tell us where to bowl, and we trust that plan. We go out and we practice and we try to execute as best as we can. It was fortunate that today was my day.”
Van Schalkwyk, the USA bowler of South African origin, said it is also important not to over-plan against the opponents.
“If you over-plan, you tend to think that players are a lot better than they are. So I think all the players here are incredible, firstly. But I think over-planning can also make you a little more nervous,” he said.
“We've seen enough on TV that we know what players like to do. We had our plans and executed them quite well. The different fields we set, I don't think many players are used to that.”
“Personally, I like watching videos and it helps me. We've seen a lot of players in the IPL, playing a lot of cricket. So for us, it's just relying on the knowledge that you have, and fortunately, I'm 37 years old, so I've seen quite a bit of cricket. So for me, it's just trusting my plan and my preparation.”
Van Schalkwyk's performance was indeed commendable, but India were rescued by captain Suryakumar Yadav, who hit 10 fours and four sixes to score 84 not out off 49 balls and take India to 161/9.
Suryakumar's late onslaught saw 21 runs coming off the final over of Saurabh Netravalkar -- one of the three USA cricketers from Mumbai -- who eventually returned 4-0-65-0.
“The last over, that's going to happen in these games, especially with the boundaries being a bit shorter,” Schalkwyk said.
“Saurabh has been unbelievable for us and he's still an absolute gentleman.”
He said USA fancied their chances with the bat even as the momentum swung India's way at the halfway mark.
“Any team at the halfway mark will, if they keep India to 170. We'll definitely say that we had a chance because we're a good team. But you have to give it to Sky and he played an unbelievable innings, and you have to give credit where it's due -- that was the batting difference, definitely,” he said.
Schalkwyk said while USA bowlers stuck to their plans, they lost too many wickets in the powerplay.
“Everyone stuck to what they could. The plans worked quite well. Losing a few wickets in the powerplay always puts you on the back foot. But Sanjay (Krishnamurthi) and Milind (Kumar) actually batted well through the middle to get us going,” he said.
“From then, their spinners bowled well. They knew the pace of the wicket immediately from what we did, and that's credit to them.”