Bishnoi ready to slap on Oz wrists
POTCHEFSTROOM, SOUTH AFRICA: Indian wrist spinner Ravi Bishnoi’s repertoire of skills will meet a match in Australian Tanveer Sangha’s variations in a face-off between two talented tweakers during the quarter-final of the ICC U-19 World Cup here on Tuesday.
The white ball cricket in recent times has seen wrist spinners emerge as an important cog and junior cricket is no different where Bishnoi, easily the tournament’s most impactful bowler, would like to give his team the advantage over the Australian side.
With 10 wickets from three games and game-changing four for 30 against a gritty New Zealand side, Bishnoi has proved why Kings XI Punjab has invested Rs 2 crore on him during the auction. Statistically, even Sangha has been at his best with 10 wickets with 5 for 14 against minnows Nigeria. But there’s been a four-wicket haul against the West Indies and a wicket to show against England for the player of Indian origin.
On Tuesday, both the wrist spinners will be key to their team’s chances and Australia will look to improve their dismal record against India at the junior level. In the last five U-19 ties since 2013 (different teams have played though), India have won four with one game being abandoned due to rain.
As a team, India are way ahead both in terms of quality as well as temperament with the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal (two half-centuries), his opening partner Divyansh Saxena and skipper Priyam Garg showing glimpses of their talent.
In the bowling department, lanky UP boy Kartik Tyagi, who breaches the 140 kmph barrier quite regularly, and left-arm seamer Akash Singh, moving the white ball back into the righthanders, are a heady combination. And there is left-arm spinner Atharva Ankolekar, who came back brilliantly against the Junior Black Caps despite being attacked early on. He got three key breakthroughs but a finger fracture in his right hand could be an impediment while fielding.