Skipper Rahul hails yorker-king Shami
DUBAI: Kings XI Punjab captain KL Rahul lauded his pace spearhead Mohammed Shami for his ability and clarity of thought to bowl six yorkers in the ‘Super Over’ while defending just five runs in the dramatic IPL match against Mumbai Indians here on Sunday.
The match ended in a tie in the regulation 20 overs and KXIP could only score five runs in the first ‘Super Over’. But, Shami bowled brilliantly to restrict MI to the same score. Kings XI eventually won the match in the second ‘Super Over’.
“You can never prepare for ‘Super Overs’. No team does. So, you have to trust your bowler’s gut. You trust your bowler, and let them believe their instinct and gut,” Rahul said at the post-match presentation.
“Shami was very clear he wanted to go with six yorkers. He has been phenomenal, and keeps getting better every game. It is important that senior players win the games for the team.”
Rahul, who was named Man of the Match for his 77, expressed happiness at the victory, but said that his side would not want to make a habit of winning like this.
On KXIP winning two back-to-back close matches, he said: “We still want to take it one game at a time. It is sweet after the kind of matches we lost. But the talk in the dressing room is to focus on the process.”
Bumrah going from strength to strength: Pollard Mumbai Indians all-rounder Kieron Pollard opined that Jasprit Bumrah has taken over the mantle from Lasith Malinga to become the lynchpin of the four-time champion’s bowling attack.
After picking up the crucial wickets of KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal and Nicholas Pooran in the stipulated 20
Shami was very clear he wanted to go with six yorkers. He has been phenomenal, and keeps getting better every game KL Rahul, Kings XI captain
overs, Bumrah (3/24) bowled an excellent ‘Super Over’ against Kings XI, conceding just five runs.
“He is a world-class cricketer. He has been number one in a couple of formats for a long period of time. He has learned and grown leaps and bounds at Mumbai. We have comfort in him,” said Pollard after the thriller.
“A couple of years ago, we had a fit and fair Malinga and Bumrah has taken over that mantle now,” added the West Indian.