Devon Conway has been a big reason why Chennai Super Kings and Mahendra Singh Dhoni are in a happy place after half-a-dozen matches in IPL 2023.

The left-handed New Zealand opener has had a crucial role to play in the four wins the Super Kings recorded so far in the ongoing edition of the tournament.

Consistently helping his team to be strongly placed after the Powerplay, Conway has taken his run tally to 258 from six matches at an average of 51.60 and a healthy strike rate of 144.13. He has had a hat-trick of 50-plus scores — against Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad — and the four-time champions lost only to the Royals out of these three games. That too, by just three runs.

In his debut IPL last year, Conway had finished with three half-centuries from seven appearances. While he did make some sort of an impact in IPL 2022, this year he appears to be a batsman who has adapted even better to conditions in the subcontinent.

Earlier in the year, during New Zealand’s white-ball tour of India, Conway’s knocks — a 35-ball 52 in the first T20I in Ranchi and 138 off only 100 balls in the third and final ODI in Indore — were indicators of enhanced adaptability to conditions here. He is spreading his wings now in the IPL.

When the Black Caps return for the ODI World Cup in October/November, Conway surely will have a massive role to play, especially as Kane Williamson is set to miss the showpiece event owing to a knee injury. “Yes, he’s definitely dealing a lot better with conditions in India,” agreed Glenn Pocknall, who was Conway’s coach at Wellington Firebirds.

“He’s quick to learn and adapt and has shown this through his performances in India. With Kane out of the World Cup, Devon, as currently one of the premier batsmen in the world, will be the glue that helps New Zealand post competitive totals while his experience in India will be able to help guide the other batters in how to go about chasing totals,” Pocknall emphasised.

Having said that, there is an area or two where Conway needs improvement. Particularly, his tendency of playing across the line when attempting to whip fast bowlers between mid-on and mid-wicket.

On Sunday at the Eden, it wouldn’t be unwise if Kolkata Knight Riders bowlers make him go for that stroke, which has brought about his dismissal in this IPL as well.

“The nature of the shorter form is that you are going to make mistakes every now and then. But Devon could make a slight tweak in his set-up or pre-movement when looking to access the area between mid-on and mid-wicket, which would be of two-fold advantage, allowing him better access and taking the stumps out of play,” Pocknall explained.