Follow UsA few overs into the second innings, cameras quickly panned towards the dew that could play a significant role in the outcome of the proceedings. The commentators had emphasised that the dew factor would nullify the prowess of the Gujarat spinners.
But Rashid Khan and Sai Kishore were having none of that. Gujarat’s two premium spinners got a lot of purchase off the surface, making life extremely difficult for the visitors. Even Rohit Sharma, who was well set, struggled to line up against the turning ball, eventually being trapped in front of the wicket.
While Rashid ended with figures of 0/23 in his four overs, Kishore picked up the big wicket of Rohit with figures of 1/24. In the post-match press conference, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder expressed his surprise over ‘dew not playing a major role’ in the outcome of the clash.
"I was actually expecting dew to play a major role. The ball was wet, but for some strange reason, the ball was still holding on the wicket,” Sai Kishore said in the post-match press conference.
It was evident when the left-arm spinner was bowling that there was enough assistance for the tweakers from the surface. The 27-year-old revealed that his plan was to bowl into the wicket and let the surface do its thing.
“Usually it slides on, but I was surprised by the amount of purchase I was getting. So I tried to go into the wicket and mix my pace, and go slower through the air. Because the wicket was two-paced, we tried to go into the wicket a lot more, trust our length a lot more than directly going for yorkers," Sai Kishore added.
Even when Gujarat were largely chasing the game, the Tamil Nadu skipper felt that they were bowling in attacking channels, making life extremely tough for Hardik Pandya’s men. Kishore was happy with his role as the second spinner in the Gujarat setup.
"In the other teams where play I usually do the lead role. To do the second role makes it even more exciting. Most people are going to play off Rashid and come after me. That makes the challenge more exciting,” he said.
Despite pulling off a miraculous win, Gujarat’s camp set the record straight, stating that they were at least 10 runs short, having put into bat on March 24 (Sunday) in Ahmedabad. But the cohesive unit ensured that they put on a show together, strangling Mumbai in the middle-overs, especially in a three-over phase, where they only conceded only 12 runs.
"We felt we were 10 short, but the thing about this whole team and how it has been run over the last two years is we give a lot of emphasis to competing. Whether we win or lose, we're proud of the way we play. We competed really well. That was the talk given by [head coach] Ashish Nehra as well,” he added.
"All credit to the culture he has set up over the last two years. People are not thinking about the result [alone], they're focusing about competing and staying in the game."
Gujarat proved yet again that they might be the team to beat despite not having two of their best players from the previous year - Mohammed Shami and Hardik. The statement win against Mumbai only reiterated the saying, “Write Gujarat off at your own peril”.
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