Conway credits MSD for tips on handling spinners

MUMBAI: Coming down the track and hitting spinners for boundaries was not his biggest strength, but Chennai Super Kings opener Devon Conway, upon skipper MS Dhoni’s advice, tried it to good effect in the 91-run IPL win over Delhi Capitals here on Sunday.

Conway, who smashed 87 off just 49 deliveries for his third successive fifty, said that Dhoni’s advice on handling spinners helped him a great deal against Delhi. “I have got to give credit to MS actually,” Conway said after CSK’s fourth win of the season.

“In the last game (against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Pune), I swept quite a lot and unfortunately got out [while] playing the sweep. Dhoni told me: ‘I think the guys (Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel) are going to bowl fuller to you, so maybe come out and try to hit them straight’. He sort of gave me the guidelines to execute that,” added Conway, who took a special liking to DC left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep.

On a purple patch after recording scores of 85 and 56 in the previous two matches, Conway said that he wants to keep things simple.

“For me, the key is to stay authentic as a player. My blueprint is simple. In the first six [overs], I try to play strong cricket shots and analyse the situation, surface and conditions,” Conway went on to add.

“[Against Delhi], I just kept up the communication with Rutu (Ruturaj Gaikwad). He is a class player and is really calm at the crease. We have good chats and complement each other quite nicely in the middle,” said New Zealand’s Conway.