Tendulkar v Steyn
Plays of the Day from the IPL game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians in Hyderabad
Abhishek Purohit
01-May-2013
The one that came in too much • BCCI
The shots
Great fast bowler against great batsman. Sachin Tendulkar easily won the mini-bout against Dale Steyn. Tendulkar was punching the outswingers crisply but finding the field when Steyn angled in a couple with a scrambled seam. The first one was whipped powerfully in the air, but finer than Tendulkar intended, to the deep square leg boundary. The second went exactly where the batsman wanted it to, a smooth forward stride followed by an authoritative loft over mid-on.
Great fast bowler against great batsman. Sachin Tendulkar easily won the mini-bout against Dale Steyn. Tendulkar was punching the outswingers crisply but finding the field when Steyn angled in a couple with a scrambled seam. The first one was whipped powerfully in the air, but finer than Tendulkar intended, to the deep square leg boundary. The second went exactly where the batsman wanted it to, a smooth forward stride followed by an authoritative loft over mid-on.
The delivery
Tendulkar was timing almost everything off the front foot, when he decided to back away to leg against Ishant Sharma. It was short of a good length and Tendulkar was lining up to crash it through the off side. The ball jagged in sharply after pitching, though, and Tendulkar had no time to prevent his stumps from being knocked over. It did stay a shade low, the effect getting magnified by Tendulkar's familiar extravagant crouch, but it was the movement that beat the batsman.
Tendulkar was timing almost everything off the front foot, when he decided to back away to leg against Ishant Sharma. It was short of a good length and Tendulkar was lining up to crash it through the off side. The ball jagged in sharply after pitching, though, and Tendulkar had no time to prevent his stumps from being knocked over. It did stay a shade low, the effect getting magnified by Tendulkar's familiar extravagant crouch, but it was the movement that beat the batsman.
The decisions
Umpire Sudhir Asnani blew hot and cold. Dwayne Smith missed an attempted sweep to a full Amit Mishra delivery and made it look worse by losing his balance and falling over after being hit on the pad. Asnani immediately raised his finger but replays showed Smith had gloved the ball into the pitch before the pad came into play.
Umpire Sudhir Asnani blew hot and cold. Dwayne Smith missed an attempted sweep to a full Amit Mishra delivery and made it look worse by losing his balance and falling over after being hit on the pad. Asnani immediately raised his finger but replays showed Smith had gloved the ball into the pitch before the pad came into play.
Asnani traversed from howler to cracker on the decision scale next. The last ball of Steyn's spell swung in low and full to hit Kieron Pollard on the pad after a missed scoop. Steyn pleaded and pleaded, making it seem like there had never been an lbw so plumb. Outside the line of off, Asnani signalled immediately, and replays showed he was spot-on this time. Pollard had been struck inches outside.
The innovation
Mumbai Indians needed the last over to go for some runs, and Ambati Rayudu stepped up with successive fours off Thisara Perera. The second of those was a late adjustment superbly executed. Rayudu got down one one knee, wanting to slog over the leg side, when Perera bowled it really wide outside off. Rayudu checked the slog-swing of the bat, and turned his wrists to lift the ball over backward point for four, with third man also up in the circle.
Mumbai Indians needed the last over to go for some runs, and Ambati Rayudu stepped up with successive fours off Thisara Perera. The second of those was a late adjustment superbly executed. Rayudu got down one one knee, wanting to slog over the leg side, when Perera bowled it really wide outside off. Rayudu checked the slog-swing of the bat, and turned his wrists to lift the ball over backward point for four, with third man also up in the circle.
Abhishek Purohit is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo