Five runs to defend in the Super Over for the Kings XI Punjab against the Mumbai Indians. Mohammed Shami has seen his Indian teammate Jasprit Bumrah deliver a masterclass in denying Nicholas Pooran and KL Rahul big runs. Now he has to do it himself. The Kings XI are on the edge, a loss could well spell the curtain on their season.
At the top of his mark, Shami knew he just had to throw at the yorkers, and he nailed them perfectly, as throwing him just an inch away would mean Rohit Sharma and Quinton de Kock would likely send the ball over the fence.
“It’s very difficult,” Shami said. IPLT20.com after the T20 cricket’s first twin Super Over bash. “Usually we can defend 15-17 runs, so in the back of the mind the thought is, ‘I believe in myself, I can do this.’ But when the margin of error is minimal [while defending five], then you start to think what is the best thing you can do.
“I always believe in my yorkers, I’m not sure what people think. Every ball as I walked back to my run, the thought was that the previous yorker had landed well. This one will go well too. He just repeated the same thing.”
Then, having forced the game into another one-more shootout, the Kings XI decided to designate Chris Jordan with the ball. England’s fast bowler, hired primarily for his death bowling, said his team needed just 12 runs to get the two points they needed to stay alive, despite facing off against Kieron Pollard and Hardik Pandya.
And that was also because Mayank Agarwal jumped high on the limit to save four runs from a Pollard hit by throwing the ball into the field of play before landing off the ropes. But his night was not over yet.
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With Rahul and Pooran being fired in the previous Super Over, they needed two new hitters to get in. Chris Gayle and Agarwal came out. The Indian starter has been in good shape – second on the list of top runners after Rahul – while scoring close to 160. Gayle, meanwhile, was only in her second game of the season. Surely, you would think Agarwal would go on strike? He thought the same thing too, until Gayle decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I wasn’t nervous, I was a little more angry and upset for putting us in this position,” Gayle said later with a laugh. “It’s a game of cricket; these things happen. Even with us going to bat, I was upset with you (Agarwal) when you asked, ‘Who is going to face the first ball?’ (laughs) . I said, ‘Mayank, did you really ask that question?’ I was like, ‘Come on, don’t ask me that, I’m going to hit a first six-ball.’
Gayle made the talk, dropping a juicy full pitch from Trent Boult on a long pitch, before taking a single ball next. This left the Kings XI needing five of four. Agarwal’s quick 89 hit, in his team’s first game this season, was not enough to beat the Kings XI in regulation time. That day, against the Delhi Capitals, he had holed out with the Kings XI needing one of two balls and then saw them lose the Super Over. The result appeared in front of him again, and he was determined to do it differently this time.
“One hundred percent, that Capitals game came to mind,” Agarwal said. “Chris told me, ‘Look at the ball, the rest will be fine.’ That was on my mind. I just knew I had to hit. It wasn’t like he thought we’ll calculate, take a couple here and there. I just had to do it, and it’s amazing to be a part of history. “
Finally, Agarwal sent a full pitch to midwicket for four to make sure no more drama was required during the day.
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