India vs South Africa: Batters will need more practice due to extra bounce of the pitch, says Rinku Singh

Team India on Friday held their first practice session in Durban ahead of their T20I series against South Africa starting on Sunday, and middle-order batter Rinku Singh believes that it was important to get used to the pitches in South Africa which offer extra bounce and pace. “When I batted here today, there was extra bounce here compared to Indian wickets. The pace is a bit more, so will practice against pace bowling,” Rinku told BCCI.tv after India’s first practice session in Durban. Rinku was instrumental in India’s recent T20I series against Australia, which the Men in Blue went onto win 4-1. Rinku scored 105 runs from five matches, helping the hosts finish games in pressure situations. Rinku said that head coach Rahul Dravid has advised him to play his natural game. “The first practice session, I enjoyed it a lot because of the fine weather. Getting the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid sir, so that was a good feeling. He told me to continue playing the way I do and continue believing in myself,” added Rinku. Rinku said that playing at No 5 and No 6 for Uttar Pradesh since 2013 has helped him confidence to play something similar for India. “I have been playing for UP since 2013 at No. 5 or 6. So, I have got used to that position. I keep backing myself to play in that position because it is very tough to play in that position if 4-5 wickets are down,” the 26-year-old commented. “Then you have to build a partnership. So I keep telling myself, the more I can keep myself calm, the better it is (for me), and not to react,” he commented. Rinku felt it was important to gel with teammates and enjoy each other’s company. “We 4-5 players remain in a group. Me, Ravi (Bishnoi), Arshdeep (Singh), Avesh (Khan), Jitesh (Sharma). We enjoy each other’s company, which is very important in cricket,” added Rinku. The first of three T20Is will be played in Durban on Sunday. That will be followed by two more T20Is on 12 December (Gqeberha) and 14 December (Johannesburg). The T20Is will be followed by three ODIs and two Tests.