JOIN USWashington Sundar has bowled so often during Powerplay overs that it must have been an odd experience for him to be bowling after halfway through Kings XI Punjab's innings here on Friday.
The tall off-spinner built quite a reputation for himself as a Powerplay bowler during India's victorious campaign in Sri Lanka in the T20I tri-series for the Nidahas Trophy. The Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder claimed eight wickets in five matches at an average of 14.25 and an economy rate of 5.70 which is acceptable even by ODI standards.
After a not-so-successful outing against Kolkata Knight Riders in the opener at Eden Gardens where he conceded 48 runs for a solitary wicket, Sundar was in his elements against Kings XI. He first dismissed a well-set K L Rahul en route to figures of 2/22 and then rattled off two fours in the final over of their chase to seal the deal for the hosts. After a thoroughly satisfying day in the office, the Chennai-based player admitted coming on to bowl after Powerplay was a "different challenge".
"As a spinner, you need to be open to bowling in different scenarios," Sundar later said. "I think our fast bowlers bowled a lot in the first six overs especially and yeah, I had to bowl after 10 overs. It was a different challenge and the way I bowled, I was pretty happy about it."
Sundar was introduced to the attack with Rahul and Karun Nair looking good for a big partnership. The tall offie didn't disappoint and he attributed his success to keeping things simple.
"I think both of them managed to get a partnership after Umesh (Yadav) took three wickets in a single over," he began. "They were in a pretty good position when I came to bowl. I wanted to keep things simple and tight. I didn't want to really try too many things. The ground is also pretty small and wanted to keep hitting the deck and keep things tight and I ended up getting two wickets," he explained.
Sundar was also happy with the way the relaid pitch played out. There was pace and bounce for pacers and grip and turn for spinners with batsmen having equal opportunity to play their strokes.
"I think the wicket was good. It was 165-170 wicket. I think we bowled very well to reduce them by 10-15 runs. Umesh Yadav's second over was pretty crucial for us. Even they bowled really well, the first 12 overs especially. After that, they had to use a lot of fast bowling and we were getting runs. It was a good game of cricket, it was a very competitive wicket as well. I don't think it was like the last year. I think it was very good. Bowlers were also able to get some purchase and it was good for batting as well," he offered.