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Glenn Phillips is in the headlines for his match-winning century against the India National Cricket Team, which secured an 87-run win for the New Zealand National Cricket Team. After the match, the centurion shared how the Indian Premier League (IPL) shaped his game.
Phillips' 107-run innings from 49 balls helped New Zealand to secure a total of 259 run at the Eden Park in Auckland. India tried, but produced a 172-run innings in reply. He got the Player of the Match award as the best performer of the match. But how was he able to play such a lethal knock against a star-studded Indian bowling line-up? The batter himself explained.
IPL is a beast of its own: Glenn Phillips
Like many top-class players across the world, Glenn Phillips also participated in the Indian T20 league. For the Kiwi batter, the IPL itself is a beast of its own, and one of the competitive leagues across the globe as well. Phillips stated that the person who has played in the League, felt it's at its level.
"Obviously the IPL is a certain beast of its own, and the balance of teams being one of eight overseas with only four spots does also make it quite tough. So if you don't go out there and set the world on fire, there's always another person waiting in line, and that's just the nature of the beast," said Phillips in the post-match press conference (as quoted by Cricbuzz).
Glenn Phillips reckons the standards of IPL
He was a part of the Gujarat Titans in the previous season of the Indian Premier League. Despite his world-class abilities, the middle-order batter scored only 67 runs in 5 innings and six matches with an average of 16.75 and a highest score of 25. Due to the poor form, the Gujarat Titans team management dropped him from the playing eleven.
"And that's okay. But at Gujarat [Titans] I was very lucky to have some unbelievable facilities, some great coaches, plenty of time to work; obviously, I also had it shown in England as well, being able to...I guess just having volume under the belt, whether it's red ball or white ball, is fantastic," Glenn Phillips stated.
New Zealand gets their first win vs India in the series
As he emphasizes IPL's high standards, Glenn Phillips further claimed that even sitting on the bench came as a massive learning opportunity for him because of the combination of top-end facilities, players, and world-class coaches in the team.
"You'd love to score runs in the IPL and you know make a load of cash, and that would be fantastic. But also there's a lot of learnings that you can take from that place whether you're playing or not. And I think that is also on each individual who is at the IPL or at any other tournament to be able to make the most out of where they go."
With today's win over India, New Zealand opened their account in the 5-match series, but it will not help them defeat Men in Blue. India have already claimed the series by winning the first three matches in a row.
