Ashwin the legspinner, and Steyn's spot
Plays of the day from the IPL match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Chennai
Sidharth Monga
25-Apr-2013
Mishra's bat and the ball were often in different postal codes • BCCI
The variation
R Ashwin is a versatile spinner as his stats will tell you, but he took that versatility one step further by landing googlies pretty well. It must have taken long hours of practice to perfect, and now imagine facing it as a batsman. You are watching the hand, looking to identify the offbreak, the topspinner and the carrom ball, and suddenly he is bowling a wristspinner. The first thing you would expect is a legbreak, and then he bowls a googly with not much change in action, and he lands it full on off. And he also bowls the legbreak at times.
R Ashwin is a versatile spinner as his stats will tell you, but he took that versatility one step further by landing googlies pretty well. It must have taken long hours of practice to perfect, and now imagine facing it as a batsman. You are watching the hand, looking to identify the offbreak, the topspinner and the carrom ball, and suddenly he is bowling a wristspinner. The first thing you would expect is a legbreak, and then he bowls a googly with not much change in action, and he lands it full on off. And he also bowls the legbreak at times.
The decision
Indian umpires in the IPL, barring the odd exception, continue to show why India don't have one on the ICC elite panel. It was Subrat Das' turn today. At the start of the fourth over of the match, Shikhar Dhawan tried to hook Jason Holder and got a meaty top edge, which carried almost all the way for a six, but Das called it leg byes. "Get the glasses off," said Ian Bishop on air.
Indian umpires in the IPL, barring the odd exception, continue to show why India don't have one on the ICC elite panel. It was Subrat Das' turn today. At the start of the fourth over of the match, Shikhar Dhawan tried to hook Jason Holder and got a meaty top edge, which carried almost all the way for a six, but Das called it leg byes. "Get the glasses off," said Ian Bishop on air.
The move
At the fall off the third wicket, Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a surprise by sending out Amit Mishra. A surprise Chennai Super Kings didn't mind at all. Mishra couldn't pinch-hit, he couldn't work singles, he couldn't get out. Precious deliveries went waste as the Super Kings bowlers gleefully went through those middle overs. Despite a top-edged four, Mishra ended up with 15 off 21. That's 17.5% of the whole innings.
At the fall off the third wicket, Sunrisers Hyderabad pulled off a surprise by sending out Amit Mishra. A surprise Chennai Super Kings didn't mind at all. Mishra couldn't pinch-hit, he couldn't work singles, he couldn't get out. Precious deliveries went waste as the Super Kings bowlers gleefully went through those middle overs. Despite a top-edged four, Mishra ended up with 15 off 21. That's 17.5% of the whole innings.
The spot
You see batsmen pulling out of deliveries when they spot something between the bowler and the sightscreen. Charging into bowl for the first time today, Dale Steyn aborted the delivery because the spider cam was in his sight, although behind the batsman. Perhaps he didn't want to damage it with the crazy bouncer he had in mind.
You see batsmen pulling out of deliveries when they spot something between the bowler and the sightscreen. Charging into bowl for the first time today, Dale Steyn aborted the delivery because the spider cam was in his sight, although behind the batsman. Perhaps he didn't want to damage it with the crazy bouncer he had in mind.
Sidharth Monga is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo