Last Updated: April 06, 2023, 11:09 AM IST
Guwahati [Gauhati]India
Sam Curran says it’ very hard to bowl with the wet ball. (Pic Credit: Sportzpics)
In a high-scoring affair, Punjab Kings edged past Rajasthan Royals by five runs in Guwahati
Dew plays a major factor in determining the result of evening matches in India. IPL has been no exception with teams preferring to bat second with the bowlers left to deal with the added challenge of controlling the wet ball.
On Wednesday, at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, Punjab Kings bowlers were struggling to maintain control of the ball with Rajasthan Royals threatening to to chase down 198. PBKS would eke out a five-run win though.
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With 16 runs to defend off six deliveries, and the likes of a well-set Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel in the middle, PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan handed over the ball to Sam Curran, the costliest buy in IPL history.
Curran, who stocks skyrocketed following a player-of-the-tournament performance at the T20 World Cup last year, aced the test by allowing 10 runs off the over.
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“I think when it comes to those situations, you know if you nail your yorker, you’ll be okay. Some days it works and some days it won’t but luckily it was our day,” said Curran.
Curran though was unimpressed with the fact that his team couldn’t change the ball even though it felt like soap while pointing out how RR got their ball changed.
“I was trying to get our ball changed because it was like soap. I don’t really understand why they got their ball changed but we can’t do anything about it,” said Curran.
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“It’s amazingly hard. You try to train by dipping balls in water. It’s incredibly hard to hold the seam. You try to bowl cross seam but it’s not a natural ball to bowl a yorker cross seam. It’s extremely tough but everyone has to do it so there’s no real complaining,” he added.
PBKS captain Shikhar Dhawan was all praise for Curran’s bowling while admitting it got nervy towards the end.
“There were some nervous moments but I was keeping my calm and the same with the bowlers. There was a lot of dew. The bowlers did a great job. I was happy with the score we put up. They bowled well and bowled very good yorkers,” said Dhawan.
“Scoring 197 and then my bowlers coming and getting early wickets and keeping the pressure on and then Nathan came on and got wickets. We never let the game get out of our hands. There were some moments that were hard but I think it was a great team effort,” he added.
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