After helping Australia to a victory over Sri Lanka in their second Super 12 match of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Perth on Tuesday, October 25, Stoinis was quick to praise the influence that the Indian Premier League has had on him, especially helping his transform his attitude against spinners, which was on full display in the T20 World Cup game against Sri Lanka.
Stoinis, who hit an unbeaten 59 off 18 balls, tore apart the Sri Lankan spin duo of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana to ensure a confidence-boosting seven-wicket win for the defending champions after a disastrous start to their World Cup campaign where they lost to New Zealand by 89 runs.
"Yeah, definitely the IPL has changed my cricket and helped me evolve, and it's not only playing on the wickets, but it's also having the coaches from all over the world, having players from different countries," Stoinis said after the win on Tuesday night.
"I've played for quite a few years in the IPL and quite a few teams, so you come across a range of techniques and mentalities about how to play spin. Yeah, it has helped me improve for sure. But yeah, so I'm looking for two balls really, one off the back foot and one off the front foot, just to at least have an option for each. You sort of then go from there. You're trying to get the field that you want, which is sometimes why you want to play a lap or reverse or a sweep shot, which I'm working on sort of thing," he said.
Stoinis also created a new record for the fastest T20 International half-century by an Australian en route to his power-packed knock, but the all-rounder said he was actually nervous while walking out to bat.
"I was actually quite nervous, to be honest, so yeah, the intention was just to go put an impact on the game and probably provide a bit of energy for the boys and try and get a spark going."
Stoinis' knock not only handed Australia a comeback win but also helped in boosting their net run rate, which took a beating in the loss against New Zealand.
(With PTI Inputs)
