Second half of IPL will be different, says Nortje

It was here where things started to happen for me in the IPL, but I am looking to take it match by match this season. There's a lot coming up, even after the IPL.

Dubai: Delhi Capitals’ fast bowler Anrich Nortje, who picked up 22 wickets in 16 matches in his first-ever IPL season in 2020 and helped his team reach the final of the tournament, expressed that he will be looking to take it match by match in the second half of the VIVO IPL 2021 season in the UAE.  

“It was here where things started to happen for me in the IPL, but I am looking to take it match by match this season. There’s a lot coming up, even after the IPL. We have to try and remember what we did here the last time we were here and try and implement that again. Hopefully, we can repeat what we did in the UAE the last time we were here,” said the 27-year-old.

The fast bowler added that the second half of the IPL 2021 season will be completely different from the first half of the season, “What worked at one place is not going to work at another place so we have to take it game by game. The upcoming games in the UAE are going to be completely different from the games we had earlier in the season. Maybe teams will field different strategies in the second half of the tournament. We have to be switched on now and just be ready.”

Nortje expressed that playing the IPL before the T20 World Cup in the UAE is certainly a big advantage for all T20I players.

“It’s definitely a massive advantage to play the IPL before the T20 World Cup. We have a chance to acclimatize to the conditions and get first-hand experience of the kind of wickets here in the UAE. The sooner we get the information about the kind of wickets here, the better it will be for all of us. I think each team is looking to assess everything as much as possible, but, firstly we have to assess the conditions for the IPL as it certainly is a big tournament in itself and then we will get to the T20 World Cup,” said the fast bowler.

The Delhi Capitals are set to take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad on 22 September 2021, when the VIVO IPL 2021 season resumes.