‘Picking Bishnoi was a right choice’
Ex-England batsman praises the young leg-spinner following win over Hyderabad
Former England batsman Mark Butcher yesterday said that Punjab Kings had made the right choice by playing young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad Saturday night, adding that not only is the bowler quicker and flatter through the air but also bring the ball into the right-handers a bit more.
Bishnoi (3/24) and Mohammed Shami (2/14) helped Punjab Kings overcome Sunrisers Hyderabad by five runs in a low-scoring thriller. With this win, Punjab are now at fifth place in the points table.
Having restricted Punjab Kings for 125/7, Sunrisers Hyderabad were hoping to chase the small total successfully. But they had a horror start as David Warner (2) nicked behind to keeper KL Rahul on third ball of the innings.
“Bishnoi was interesting. They (PBKS) went for a more Rashid Khan sort of leg-spinner — quicker through the air, flatter, has balls turning back into the right-handers a bit more than the big leg-break that Adil Rashid bowls. On that surface, it was a perfect choice. Needed somebody to push it through; not let the batters to get underneath you and hit you out of the park and he did that brilliantly,” Butcher said.
Butcher also praised Mohammad Shami, who got rid of the dangerous David Warner and Kane Williamson at the top, finishing with figures of 2/14.
“He (Shami) is a quality bowler. If you can run up and hit a decent length and he tends to be fuller than most, attacking the stumps. On a pitch where you’re entirely sure if the ball is going to come on to the bat, whether it’s going to grip or not, he’s going to cause you problems. He is high class.”