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'The number three is someone who keeps the scoreboard ticking at eight or nine per over, then you will have a good base.'
Royal Challengers Bangalore wicketkeeper KS Bharat is happy that he is able to provide a stable base as a No 3 batter, for finishers like Glenn Maxwell and AB de Villiers which has been a key recipe in the last two wins for his franchise.
RCB dished out a clinical display with both bat and ball to record a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over Rajasthan Royals in the IPL on Wednesday, to boost their prospects of a top-two finish in the league stage.
With knocks of 32 and 44 against Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals, Bharat has sorted RCB's problems with their one-drop batter in the current edition.
"So, number three is always a beautiful spot to play. It asks a lot of questions if you are not ready for it. And we at RCB, we have always focussed on keeping the strike going and get busy right from ball one," 27-year-old Bharat said after the match.
"....and the little things of running and calling well and rotating the strike, all these little pointers, it plays a huge role in building up a partnership," the Andhra keeper-batsman said.
For him, providing a platform for the likes of Maxwell and de Villiers to go on the attack in the final overs is the main thing.
"The number three is someone who keeps the scoreboard ticking at eight or nine per over, then you will have a good base (and) for people like Maxi (Maxwell) and AB (de Villiers) coming in after 12th over.
"If you have the wickets in hand, then you can go all out towards the end of the innings. So, the message is clear saying I should get a partnership going and we are sticking to it," he explained.
Just like any youngster would say, Bharat was no different when asked the staple question about what he has learnt from the likes of Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
"If you play with Virat bhai (Kohli), AB (de Villiers) and (Glenn) Maxwell, you tend to learn a lot of good things in terms of cricket and as well as how to handle yourself on and off the field," Bharat added.
Bharat and Maxwell shared a crucial 69-run stand for the third wicket, which helped RCB and the stumper said that the communication between the two was all tactical.
"And coming back to this innings, me and Maxi (Maxwell), we were having the conversation of what are the areas we could access and what are the boundary options...
"....how many overs one particular bowler is going to bowl, what are his lengths, so it's all purely tactical things what we were discussing out in the centre and it came out well," he noted.
On his 44-run knock, he said, "It is obviously a good feeling winning this game and coming back to it and contributing going out in the centre.