Gujarat Titans (GT) spinner R Sai Kishore revealed that the M. Chinnaswamy pitch was assisting spinners if bowled ‘into the wicket.’ His remarks came during the mid-innings break after he completed his four-over spell, conceding just 22 runs against a strong Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batting lineup and picking up two crucial wickets.
After the fast bowlers dominated the first ten overs, Sai was introduced into the attack ahead of his senior spin partner, Rashid Khan. He immediately created an opportunity by tempting Liam Livingstone into playing a big shot, which he mistimed, but Rahul Tewatia couldn’t hold onto the catch. In the next over, Sai dismissed the dangerous-looking Jitesh Sharma before sending Krunal Pandya back to the pavilion, capping off a brilliant spell of spin bowling.
“I felt that when you bowl into the wicket, it assists the spinners, but you never know until both teams have bowled on it. What I mean by that is getting good shape on the ball and bowling like in a proper red-ball game. To stay relevant in T20 cricket, you have to keep evolving. Over the last 3-4 years, I have been practising that ball but hadn’t bowled it anywhere (the one that dismissed Krunal). But I felt confident enough to bowl it in this IPL, so I went with my instinct. It’s like a carrom ball—I get more dip on it. I don’t know exactly what it is, so I can call it anything,” Sai Kishore told the broadcasters during the mid-innings break.
It was another game where Sai outshone Rashid, who endured a tough outing, finishing with 0/54 in his four overs. Sai’s spell, along with Mohammed Siraj’s three-wicket haul, helped GT restrict RCB to 169.