Image Credit- BCCI
For someone who
spins, moisture can be their worst nightmare. And the difficulties increase
when the opposition is cruising at 107 for 2, requiring 62 off 48.
Until now, R Sai Kishore had bowled three overs without a wicket for 19 runs.
With Rohit Sharma at 43, the Gujarat Titans would have been almost eliminated
in a few more overs from him. This is when Sai Kishore really started to shine.
“I was actually
expecting dew to play a major role,” he said later. “The ball was
wet, but for some strange reason, the ball was still holding on the wicket.
Usually it slides on, but I was surprised by the amount of purchase I was
getting. So I tried to go into the wicket and mix my pace, and go slower
through the air.”
Because of issues
with team composition, Sai Kishore did not play for the Titans during the
entire previous season. Even his five previous appearances in 2022 had been
spaced out. To keep Titans alive, he had to summon something extraordinary,
which he accomplished by just slightly extending his body backward and causing
the ball to dip.
As Rohit attempted a sweep, he stumbled and became stuck in front. The game had
returned to balance thanks to Sai Kishore. Mumbai’s collapse was largely due to
his 1 for 24 stats, especially in the second half of their chase when the
Titans changed their lengths and bowled into the pitch to stop the hitters.
“Because the wicket was two-paced, we tried to go into the wicket a lot
more, trust our length a lot more than directly going for yorkers,” Sai
Kishore said. “That resulted in getting a lot of wickets. It was attacking
bowling even if the situation was otherwise.”
Sai Kishore felt
Titans were at least 10 short of where they’d hoped to be with the bat. The
plan all along was to remain in the game for as long as they could and then
seize key moments, like they did in the death overs with Mohit Sharma and
Rashid building on Sai Kishore’s work.
“We felt we were 10 short, but the thing about this whole team and how it
has been run over the last two years is we give a lot of emphasis to competing.
Whether we win or lose, we’re proud of the way we play. We competed really well.
That was the talk given by [head coach] Ashish Nehra as well.
“All credit to the culture he has set up over the last two years. People
are not thinking about the result [alone], they’re focusing about competing and
staying in the game.”