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Short glimpse as D'Arcy finds touch in India

Hurricanes whirlwind D'Arcy Short showed promising signs as he continues to adapt to Indian conditions in debut IPL season

Big-hitting opener D'Arcy Short hit a new personal best for Rajasthan in his fourth IPL game, but admits he has struggled to adapt to the vastly different conditions on the subcontinent.

Short, who was snapped up by the Rajasthan Royals for A$775,000, endured a lacklustre start to the tournament, run out twice before edging behind, and was only able to muster 21 runs in his first three matches.

He improved on that with 44 from 43 balls against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday night, taking some time to get into his innings.

Short had scored just three runs from his first 10 balls, and didn't find the boundary until his 15th delivery.

It was a far cry from the free-scoring nature of the left-hander seen in the Big Bash League, where he scored a record 572 runs for the Hobart Hurricanes in BBL|07.

Against Kolkata, he collected with five boundaries and one towering six pulled high into the crowd over square leg, and had looked to be finding some timing, before off-spinner Nitish Rana slid one through him.

Image Id: 4DF55F5A144D4F728367C54C877C5342 Image Caption: Short warms up to face Kolkata // BCCI

Short admitted after the match that he was still coming to grips with the Indian pitches.

"They're a lot lower than what it is back home, especially (Jaipur's) wicket was quite hard I felt to get started on," Short said.

"Definitely delighted to spend some time in the middle finally, good to get a bit of a score on the board," Short said.

The Australian had been under mounting pressure with South African Heinrich Klaasen waiting in the wings for his chance in the playing XI.

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The run-a-ball knock should give him confidence, and a platform on which to build for the rest of the tournament, with the Royals travelling to Pune to face the Chennai Super Kings on Saturday, where a win could see them jump into the IPL's top four.

Short has had the opportunity to learn off both Australia legend and Royals mentor Shane Warne as well as captain Ajinkye Rahane, with the skipper putting faith in Short's shot-making skills and favouring keeping him in the side.

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"It's all about believing in the abilities of your partner, I think our discussion between D'Arcy and I was to back our game," Rahane said.

"We've been doing really well and T20 cricket is all about backing your players, I think giving that confidence to the players was important, the boys are doing well and I wanted to stick to the same combination."

The 27-year-old West Australian also praised the Rajasthan fans, who pose an imposing presence at the Royals home games, packing out the 23,185 capacity Sawai Mansingh Stadium.

"(It's a) great experience and the crowds are always fun to be around, it's just enjoyable, they're just always upbeat and always behind you, they're never quiet," Short said.

Australian viewers can watch the 2018 season of the IPL exclusively on Fox Sports