Robin Uthappa believes his turn to play for Indian will come again

Former Orange Cap winner Robin Uthappa engineered an emphatic victory for Kolkata Knight Riders over Rising Pune Supergiant at Pune’s MCA Stadium. Uthappa, who played a record 19th game at the scenic venue, demolished the RPS bowlers in his 47-ball 87 to scale a target of 183.

Along with a stellar performance with the bat, Robin Uthappa also had a good day at the office with the gloves. Uthappa affected three sharp stumpings to see three dangerous batsmen back in the hut. He caught Rahane’s foot millimetres off the ground when he whipped the bails off.

A Kuldeep Yadav googly drew MS Dhoni out of the crease who was left hanging halfway down the wicket as Uthappa completed an easy stumping. He also dismissed Manoj Tiwary to restrict RPS’ momentum towards the back end of the innings.

Robin Uthappa’s knock made short work of the target. Skipper Gautam Gambhir – who was playing his 100th match for KKR -shared a 158-run partnership with Uthappa – the second highest stand for the Knight Riders.

Upon being asked how he manages to consistently score runs with his KKR captain, Uthappa told iplt20.com, “Gauti (Gambhir) and I understand each other very well when we are batting. We understand the importance of strike rotation and support each other in that sense. When we take a decision on the field, we really stick to that decision, and when you do that, it works in your favour.”

The wicketkeeper-batsman summed up his blistering knock saying, “We could not take our foot off the pedal and were looking to get nine runs from every over and we were in a very good position by the 15th over. All in all, it was a very good day.”

Robin was looking forward to eventually play for India in the big tournaments. Although having represented his country in limited-overs cricket, Uthappa is yet to receive his maiden Test cap. He last featured in the national team during India’s tour to Zimbabwe in 2015, during which the BCCI chose to rest the likes of Virat Kohli, Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin.

However, his dream is to make a comeback to the national side and he believes he will don the India jersey again soon.

“It is important to keep performing and I have been doing that. The dream is to play for India again and represent the country in Test matches. The dreams are there but one can’t think too far forward. You want to stay in the present and give your best foot forward. I believe hard work never goes unnoticed. I truly believe my turn will come,” he shared.

Following their assertive victory over the Supergiant, Kolkata Knight Riders displaced the Mumbai Indians to once again claim the top spot. KKR essentially need 2 wins from their next 6 games to book a place in the all-important playoffs.