Run Rate Quotes

It always gives you pleasure when you score runs in Test cricket.

Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock were my heroes, so I thought averaging 22 or 23 and taking five-wicket hauls was normal.

You do your best but I think I'm going to try and get back in as a batsman first, spinner second.

Of course, every batsman gets out. I know that. It is almost inevitable that no matter what you do, you will get out at some point or the other.

In 50over cricket there are different ways of playing. It's not all about smacking it over the top. It's important someone bats through the innings. That would be one of the options for me.

In red ball cricket, with the field placements, you can look around, take your time, because you have five days to play, whereas in limited overs cricket, you have limited number of balls to play and score.

When I grew up, I tried to score off every ball, be it a 10-over-match, a 20-over, or even a Test match. If I stay in the wicket for, say, about 30 minutes, I want to make the most of it and score maximum runs possible. You never know when you get out; try to score as much possible before that.

Kohli scores so freely. He's like Joe Root in that before you know it, he's on 30 off 20 balls. He is also the master of the chase - he calculates so the risks so perfectly.

When I was growing up, we would play a 10-over or 15-over game, and the asking-rate would always be high, and I would end up scoring 30 or 40 runs in 15 balls, so I built that mindset right from the beginning and still continue to bat in the same manner.

T20 cricket is all about using variations, and timing has to be perfect.

When I play a cover-drive, I play it to score runs.

I don't need to be going out reverse-sweeping for six and four straightaway. Singles can be just as important as boundaries, rotating the strike and not letting the bowlers settle.

If you are batting first as an opener, you give yourselves a couple of overs, see what's the wicket behaving, and then try to assess what a good score on that wicket would be, and then you plan accordingly.

In the U.A.E., the wickets are on the slower side. You can't play through the line; you need to take your time and be patient.

To be able to close off a run chase or finish off when you are setting a target is a real skill.

Like an author, a cricketer signs his name on every innings he bats or bowls in; indeed for every cricket ball that challenges him on the field.

There are very rare occasions when you get a good wicket to bat on, but whatever wicket you get, you have to play at least 20 overs for your side.

Wherever we play, the batsmen have bigger responsibility in ODI and T20 formats to set up big targets and give that cushion to bowlers.

Even when you bowl a bad over, try to restrict it in between 15-18 runs, because if you go higher than that, it has a bigger impact on the game.

The wickets in England are very helpful to me.

If I get runs in an entertaining fashion, then great. I like to get on top of bowlers and be aggressive. I don't want to be dominated by them. Hopefully people enjoy the way I play.

My favourite sport's cricket and one of the key things in cricket is to know when to declare.

I am a middle-order batsman. Delivering a 100-crore hit each time is the job of the opening batsman. I will come, do my job to the best of my abilities and leave the rest to my audience.

In Twenty20s, you have to bowl a lot fuller, especially at the death, and you've got to be mindful of what you're doing. But it's still cricket.

First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen.