IPL 2018 | Dot balls are crucial in T20 format, says Rashid Khan

04/13/2018

Afghanistan superstar Rashid Khan, who put in a man of the match performance against Mumbai Indians last night, has highlighted the importance of dot balls in the T20 format of the game. Khan conceded just 13 runs in his four overs, bowling as many as 18 dot balls of his 24 deliveries bowled.

The Indian Premier League had always been regarded as a tournament for batsmen, where bowlers were knocked all around the park in a bid to put up a huge total on the team scoreboard. But every once in a while, there comes a match where the pitch favors the bowlers, and last night’s encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians at the Rajiv Gandhi International stadium was a perfect example of that.

The Sunrisers managed to restrict MI to a total of 147, with Rashid Khan, Siddharth Kaul, and Sandeep Sharma putting in some impressive bowling displays. Rashid Khan particularly chipped in with a man of the match performance when he bowled 18 dot balls off the total 24 deliveries that he bowled. Khan stepped up in the absence of strike-bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar to ensure MI did not put up a huge total to chase.

"It was much-needed. Always need to contribute well in the team's performance. It was a good performance to restrict them to under 150. It was a good bowling effort, all the boys bowled really well. Dot balls are crucial in such a short format.

"That was the plan to bowl as many dot balls as possible. That was the message from the management to go and enjoy yourself - that's what I did. I just try my best to bowl in good length areas and mix it up for the batsmen. As he's in his stance, I can see where he's trying to hit. Love to bowl both, the leg-spinner and the googly," said Khan in a post-match interview.

It could've gone either way for SRH if the explosive Kieron Pollard had chosen to go on a rampage last night. After an exchange of words between Khan and Pollard, the former hit Rashid for a boundary straight back over his head in a bid to assert his dominance.

"We are always having fun when (we) are there in the centre. Against Pollard I did (that) in the Big Bash (League) as well so... we (would) have some good conversation which makes the game more entertaining. People would watch it and get fun from that. That was the plan, to go against him very aggressively and try to (get) him to make some mistake and get his wicket because his wicket was very crucial that time. He is a kind of player who can take the game away from you at any stage," Khan said.

IPL 2018 | Dot balls are crucial in T20 format, says Rashid Khan

Comments

0 Comments