Nice to have the wood on him – Phil Salt on his brilliant duel with Jofra Archer

Phil Salt rocked and rolled against Rajasthan Royals in stunning fashion to set the tone for the finish as RCB garnered their fourth win of the season. His blazing 65 got the visitors a dominating start and from thereon, it was simply a cruise to the finish line.

Salt won the Player of the Match award for his rippling knock up front. Talking at the post-match presentation, Salt highlighted his duel with Jofra Archer. He explained how the lateral drift from the English pace stalwart compelled him to resort to a single way of attack but that did reap the necessary dividends for RCB’s phenomenal opener.

Talking about the match, Salt said, “Very pleased, always pleased to contribute to a win. The venue was slightly different, pleased that I could put a stamp on the game for the lads.”

He shifted his attention to Jofra next, stating, “I gave it a chance, early doors to try and hit through the off-side but he was swinging it quite a long way so I realised there's only one area of the ground I could try and hit the ball. Me and Jofra have had a lot of battles in the nets. He's bowled at me more than anyone else and I have faced him more than I have faced anyone else. Nice to have the wood on him.”

He concluded by stating, “The wicket was slower and lower than anywhere else we've played. I had a real opportunity in the powerplay to put a stamp. Rajasthan played quite well. Our bowlers definitely got the plans right here. They got a pretty good score but it worked for us today with the bat.”