Delhi Daredevils were faltering at 32 for three at the end of five overs when Sam Billings had to make his way to the middle to join Karun Nair and attempt to revive the innings. Going by the knock that he went on to play which helped set up the match for the hosts, few could have guessed that the youngster from England was playing in his first-ever IPL match. He struck his maiden half-century as he stitched together a 105-run partnership to set the Kolkata Knight Riders a stiff 187-run target. While reflecting on his debut after a thumping win against the former champions in an interview with iplt20.com, Billings discussed about the game changing partnership while also appreciating Karun’s watchfully compiled knock. Excerpts: What was going through your mind when you came in to bat with the team at 32 for three? We had to bat and set up a platform. We knew from the last game that (in) Chris Morris and Carlos Brathwaite we have the fire power at the backend of the innings. It was more about settling in for a little bit because their spin bowlers (Sunil Narine and Brag Hogg) are very good and very experienced. It was a matter of just rotating the strike with Karun. He played a world-class innings to set it up for a great win. There was good running between the wickets; how had you two worked it out given that it was your first match together? I think more or less it is a mental kind of thing. At that point we couldn’t take any options in terms of big risks. It was more or less about rotating the strikes and trying to pick the twos and thankfully it came off today. We have watched you prepare diligently leading up to match. Tell us about what has gone on in the nets. Yes (there has been a lot of work in the nets). I am just thankful for the opportunity today to have a go (in the match) and it paid off. It has been a long time since I played (in a match). I was here with (England’s) World T20 squad but didn’t get a game in the World T20, so it has been a long time. I was thinking I was forgetting how to play! It has been brilliant in terms of experience. You have guys like Rahul Dravid mentoring you. It was pretty surreal. What were you looking at as a target for KKR? Were you setting small targets and building towards a total? They are a strong side. They are more or less round about the top four teams every year. We had to get in and build an innings. It was simple. We kept each other going; (ensured that we did) not get ahead of yourself. The way Karun played spin, you could learn a lot from just watching him from the other end. What was it like to bat there today against the likes of Sunil Narine and Andre Russell? I had played with Andre earlier so I know him pretty well and I know Jason Holder a bit as well. It is great to play against guys (like that) and playing against world-class players day in and day out. Even in the nets when you are practicing you improve by facing Zaheer Khan, Amit Mishra, Imran Tahir and all these guys. It is a learning process and hopefully I can keep going. What was it like batting here in India? That’s the purpose of coming over here really, to try and improve in all aspects of the game. The conditions are different then England. It is snowing there at the moment (smiles). It is only going to improve my game and hopefully I can keep progressing and keep working hard with Dravid and the other guys. It has been fantastic. How would you sum up your IPL debut? I am just thankful to get an opportunity in a country that is so passionate about cricket. Just to play here is a completely different experience. Lucky that it came off today.