GT vs MI: "Everybody Would Have Said, Dhoni Plotted Nicholas Pooran's Dismissal"
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels that Mumb Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma is the most underrated captain in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). He highlighted that he suggested Akash Madhwal to bowl round wicket to Nicholas Pooran, while also noting that if Dhoni was the captain, it would have been different and he would have got more hype. Gavakar also noted that Rohit made a decision to use Nehal Wadhera as an impact player, while emphasizing that most teams don't use an impact substitute in the first innings of the match.
Published : a week ago by Subhesh Maurya in
Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar feels that Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma is the most underrated captain in the history of Indian Premier League (IPL). Sunil Gavaskar highlighted that Rohit Sharma does’t credit for his captaincy like Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni in the cash-rich league.
Rohit Sharma guided the Mumbai-based franchise to the “Qualifier 2” match with an 81-run victory over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Wednesday, May 24. The Rohit Sharma-led team hasn’t lost a knockout game since the Qualifier 2 match in the 2017 edition.
Speaking ahead of the match between GT and MI, Sunil Gavaskar pointed out that Rohit Sharma suggested Akash Madhwal to bowl round wicket to Nicholas Pooran.
“Of course, he is underrated. The man has won 5 titles for Mumbai Indians. Let me give you an example. Madhwal got Ayush Badoni, bowling over the wicket. He then went round the wicket to the left-hander Nicholas Pooran,” Gavaskar told India Today.
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“Not a lot of bowlers necessarily do that because if they get their rhythm going bowling over the wicket, they will stick to over the wicket even it’s a left-hander, trying to leave the left-hander. But he went around the wicket and produced an absolute gem of a delivery and got the man out,” he added.
The former India opener said that if Dhoni was the captain, it would have been different and he would have got more hype.
“If that had been CSK and Dhoni was the captain, everybody would have said, Dhoni plotted Nicholas Pooran’s dismissal. This is what happens to a great extent. There is also a little bit of hype, things sometimes work out,” he continued.
Akash Madhwal led the bowling attack with his bowling performance in the ‘Eliminator’ match against the LSG, picking up five wickets for just five runs. Madhwal dismissed Ayush Badoni and Nicholas Pooran with successful deliveries in the 10th over. He induced the edge of Pooran’s bat by bowling from around the wicket.
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Rohit Sharma Did Not Get The Credit – Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar said that Rohit Sharma made a decision to use Nehal Wadhera as an impact player, adding that most teams don’t use an impact substitute in the first innings of the match.
“What I am saying is Rohit Sharma did not get the credit for telling Madhwal to bowl round the wicket,” he further added.
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“The captaincy situation as well. Remember, Nehal Wadhera was used as an impact player batting first. Teams generally don’t use batters as Impact Player when they are batting first. But Rohit used Nehwal when MI were batting first against LSG. So please give him credit for that as well,” he concluded.
Wadhera came to bat at No. 7 and scored a crucial 23 runs off 12 balls to help the team reach a competitive total of 182/8 in 20 overs. The left-handed batter played a cameo innings without getting support from the other end.