Former Indian batter Mohammad Kaif showered praise on Digvesh Singh Rathi for his brilliant final over after Lucknow Super Giants registered a nine-run win against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at the Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday.
RCB needed 20 runs to win with Romario Shepherd and Krunal Pandya at the crease when Rishabh Pant backed Rathi ahead of Shahbaz Ahmed. The mystery spinner was able to deliver the goods as he conceded only 10 runs to help his team secure a much-needed win.
The 26-year-old bowled wrong ones against Shepherd and he was able to keep the West Indies all-rounder at bay in the final over. Eventually, Rathi returned with 0-50 in his four overs.
Mohammad Kaif said on Star Sports, “They showed faith in him, and look at Digvesh, the first three balls were googlies at around 90 km/h. He was bowling with ease and flight, almost like he was bowling in the nets. The ball was pitching and coming in sharply, troubling the batters there. Then the fourth ball was a wide one, so he used the dimensions of the pitch really well. Earlier he kept it at the stumps, then bowled wide, so he played smartly with the pitch.”
Kaif said Rathi deserves all the credit as he was able to defend the score against Romario Shepherd, who is known to hit big sixes.
He added, “He backed his belief, and that’s why he bowled such a brilliant over. And remember, the batter in front of him was Shepherd, a very dangerous batter. He can smash five sixes in five balls. That’s the kind of batter he was facing. So full credit has to go to the bowler here.”
The former UP batter praised Digvesh for trusting his game when he was backed by Rishabh Pant in the final over.
He concluded “But in my opinion, giving the last over again to a bowler who had been hit for four sixes in a row in the previous match, that’s immense pressure. Just look at his face, the pressure was visible. But he trusted his own game. This is exactly what you train for, what you practice continuously for, moments like these, to not move away from your plans and to back yourself.”
Lucknow Super Giants will next take on Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Sunday.
