Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], May 4 : Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting all-rounder Will Jacks opened up on batting at the number three place in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 and said he is trying to adapt it.
The Bengaluru-based franchise signed Jacks in the 2022 season. In the 2023 season, he failed to play for RCB after sustaining an injury.
However, in RCB's previous match against Gujarat Titans (GT), the English cricketer batted at number 3 and scored a 100-run knock from just 41 balls at a strike rate of 243.90. The 25-year-old dealt with sixes as he smashed 10 overhead boundaries and five fours.
Earlier, Jacks used to open in the 20-over format. However, since the opening slot was taken by Virat Kohli and skipper Faf du Plessis, he was shifted to third place. In the IPL 2024, he scored 176 runs after playing five matches for the RCB.
RCB will take on the Gujarat-based franchise at their upcoming match of the 17th season of the IPL on Saturday at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Jacks talked about batting at the number three place and said he started doing it in November during England's series against West Indies.
"It is something that I am adapting to. I started doing it in November in the Caribbean for England, so I have probably done it in ten or a few more times. It is different. The hardest thing I found was coming in outside the powerplay. Normally when you face the first ball, you get a few to look at, and you can get your easy boundaries away and get yourself rolling whereas outside the powerplay, you have to play yourself in and it is harder to be 17 or 18 off ten balls," Jacks said.
He added that they look forward to scoring a 200-plus score and putting the pressure on the bowlers.
"We spoke long and hard about how to get to those 200-plus scores that we have seen across the competition. And we have been doing that well, taking risks at the right time and putting bowlers under pressure. I wouldn't say it adds more pressure. We just know what we have to do and we are keeping it simple and that's what has been working for us recently," he added.
As of now, RCB are at the bottom of the IPL 2024 standings with three wins and seven losses, with a total of six points.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru Squad: Faf du Plessis (C), Dinesh Karthik (Wk), Virat Kohli, Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Swapnil Singh, Karn Sharma, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal, Anuj Rawat, Mahipal Lomror, Himanshu Sharma, Akash Deep, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Reece Topley, Tom Curran, Lockie Ferguson, Mayank Dagar, Alzarri Joseph, Suyash Prabhudessai, Manoj Bhandage, Saurav Chauhan, Rajan Kumar.