Lucknow: Lucknow Super Giants’ exciting young fast-bowler Mayank Yadav had to walk off the field after bowling just one over against Gujarat Titans in Sunday’s match. Before that, Mayank was down on pace and was hit for three boundaries in his solitary over yielding 13 runs.
After the game ended, which LSG won by 33 runs after bowling out GT for 130, left-arm spin all-rounder Krunal Pandya said Mayank looked okay, which was a big relief for the side. “I don’t know what is happening, but I did have a brief couple of seconds’ chat — he seemed okay, which was quite a relief for us,” said Krunal to broadcasters after the match ended.
Speaking about the impact Mayank has made in the tournament with blistering three-wicket spells against Punjab Kings and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Krunal said, “A bright prospect, I’d been watching him from last two years. He used to bowl gun in the nets. Last year, unfortunately, missed it (due to injury). But again, whatever conversation I have had, what I see is that he has a good head on his shoulders as well.”
Apart from pacer Yash Thakur’s five-fer, Krunal himself had a huge impact in LSG’s third win of IPL 2024, varying his pace well to take out B. Sai Sudharsan, B.R. Sharath and Darshan Nalkande in a miserly spell of 3-11. “I like to know the batsman’s strengths and weaknesses and bowl according to that. Some days it comes off and some days it doesn’t.”
“At the end of the day, I backed my strength, and I had the longer side (of the boundary on the leg side in the stadium). So I made sure that if I’m going to get hit, I’ll get hit over deep midwicket, not offside,” he said.
Captain K.L. Rahul was also pleased with how his bowlers, despite Mayank’s absence, fired in unison to defend yet another total at their home venue.
“We knew very early that it (the pitch) was not as good as the other day. We were not trying to get to a particular score and were just trying to bat and see how many we would get. We put up a score and then you expect the bowlers to do their job. All three spinners have been key for us.”
“Sid (Manimaran Siddharth) has done very well; he bowls a crucial part when he bowls with the new ball. He has shown great temperament, and he has given us steady bowling in the first 2-3 overs. He has picked up wickets, but his job is to restrict runs. KP (Krunal Pandya) has played for so many years, and he is smart and knows how to bowl. Have played with Bishnoi also for a lot of years,” Rahul said.
LSG are now in third place in the points table with three wins out of four games and will next host Delhi Capitals at the BRSABV Ekana Cricket Stadium on Friday evening.
–IANS
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