Talking points from the 2020 IPL match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Sharjah.
Referee’s call to rescue Pollard and the Mumbai Indians
Rashid Khan is never missing an incident. Take your last envelope today, against the Mumbai Indians.
In the second installment, Ishan Kishan edged out a googly. Khan asked for it while charging to collect the catch. But he spilled it and was evidently angry with himself.
Khan, however, was not distracted and responded by taunting Kieron Pollard in the air with a googly. Before the delivery, Khan had placed his captain, David Warner, in the fool’s midst for denying Pollard an easy single. Despite reading the plan, Pollard was hit in midair and around the corner when he took a big step to find the ball in line with his stump, and was hit on the platform. However, the referee did not rule it out, relying on the understanding that the impact was marginally external. Khan checked immediately, but it was the referee’s decision and Pollard stayed.
Pollard had made just 6 at the time, and the Mumbai Indians were fighting at 98 for 5 with five overs remaining. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Luck Index, the impact of that decision in Pollard’s favor helped them score 20 extra runs, as Pollard ultimately made 41 of 25 balls.
Two windows for the ‘specialist’ Saha
Skilled goalkeepers are a rare breed in T20 cricket. Wriddhiman Saha is an exception, his glove work makes him stand out. Positioning, alertness, ball reading from players’ hands, reflexes, and stable and secure hands define their ground maintenance. Those basics came into play on Tuesday when Saha contributed two key Mumbai wards, which came in quick succession.
First, Shahbaz Nadeem threw one on a long, a fourth stump pitch, which Suryakumar Yadav tried to punch through the decks but failed. Just because Nadeem was bowling with a slightly round arm action, which kept the ball low. Yadav had to go get him and that meant his rear heel moved out of the crease for a moment. The ball was launched at nearly 100 km / h, but Saha was alert and steady, and quickly and definitely, the bails were shaken.
In the next about Saurabh Tiwary he was fooled by Khan’s googly, and got a thick outer rim. Saha was ready once more. He was squatting off the stump and kept bending to pick up another edge, one that was coming fast and low.
How Saha has helped Warner get back to his aggressive best form
In the first 11 games of this IPL, Warner’s attack rate was 127, well below the standards set by the Sunrisers captain in previous editions. In all three games, he’s started with Saha, yet Warner’s hit rate has soared to nearly 164, as he has scored 159 runs in two half centuries.
Warner and Saha are the only starters in this IPL to score half a century in the same game twice; They did so in victory against the capitals of Delhi and today against the Indians of Mumbai.
Saha’s free hitting game against all types of bowling has allowed Warner to play his natural role of aggressor. Even though it’s only the two games that the Warner-Saha combination has flourished, both were games the Sunrisers must win. Both against the capitals and today against a frazzled attack by the Mumbai Indians, Warner and Saha started strong and turned away from the opposition.
Warner once again showed his ruthless attitude, which has made him arguably the best hitter in tournament history. And Warner would admit Saha’s contribution to his success.
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