In a season filled with the stories of comebacks of veterans, Mohit Sharma still has the best tale despite what transpired on those two balls.
The death overs bowling is a thankless job; it’s always been the case, especially in T20 cricket. Nailing yorkers consistently is even more strenuous, requiring extra effort and a big heart. Nail them, and you are a hero; miss them, and you are a villain.
Last night, Mohit Sharma was a blend of both but ultimately ended as more of a villain. The neutrals had mixed feelings for Mohit Sharma, while the Gujarat Titans (GT) fans were flown with emotions. For them, Mohit was the culprit, and his crime was becoming one-dimensional, which is understandable.
While the figures of 3-0-36-3 don’t paint a positive picture, Mohit Sharma was among the best bowlers from both units in a game that saw an average run rate of 11. It’s just those two balls, those final two balls, that transformed the discourse of the experts and viewers. T20 cricket has always been like that for the slog overs specialist, fickle and ruthless.
In a season filled with the stories of comebacks of veterans, Mohit Sharma still has the best tale despite what transpired on those two balls. From being a net bowler last year to becoming a go-to death bowler this season, he made a scintillating comeback and ended up on the second spot in the leading wicket-takers list with 27 wickets. For the record, Mohit played three fewer innings than the leader Mohammed Shami and still ended up with only one lesser scalp.
When Mohit Sharma came in to attack in a high-octane rain-interrupted game, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) required 59 runs in the final five overs. That’s been his assigned role since joining the Gujarat team; he would come at the end of the innings and bowl the tight overs for his team. 81.85% of his overs in IPL 2023 were after the first ten sets – half of the innings.
Only Matheesha Pathirana (42.2) had bowled more than Mohit Sharma (36.1) in the final ten overs in IPL 2023. So, the role clarity provided by the GT management was splendid. Along the same lines, he started his spell when only five more overs were left, with Mohit slotted to bowl three.
In the first two overs, Mohit gave 23 runs while picking up as many as three wickets, including the prize wicket of MS Dhoni. It’s a decent run at that stage of the game. After a tremendous penultimate over by the purple cap holder Mohammed Shami, where he conceded only eight runs, it was down to 13 runs off the six balls, with Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja on the crease.
In the ultimate over of a splendid season of the IPL, Mohit’s tactics were explicit – try landing every delivery in the blockhole against two of the best CSK hitters. He erred his length four times in six attempts under immense pressure. Jadeja picked the last two deliveries brilliantly to seal the deal for the yellow army.
Why did Mohit try bowling the yorker-length deliveries throughout the over, which has several drawbacks in modern-day T20 cricket? While the yorkers are an effective weapon in the end overs, the power hitters nowadays stand deep in their crease to take on even the slightest of fuller-length balls, reducing the margin of error for the bowlers. Furthermore, no matter how much a bowler practises in the nets, it is almost impossible to hit the blockhole consistently in the actual match, and if the clash is as massive as an IPL final, the job is bound to be more arduous.
Moreover, Mohit Sharma has a variety of slower ones to operate with, as he had shown all the season. 55.56% of his total wickets had come via off-pace deliveries in the season. In fact, the lethal back of the hand slower delivery revived his career, as Mohit deceived most of the batters with that delivery.
Mohit Sharma had sent back Ajinkya Rahane in his maiden over of the match with the same kind of delivery. That was a back of the hand, slower one dug into the pitch, and Rahane couldn’t time it sweetly as the ball stopped at him. The question remains the same. Why didn’t he try bowling even a single slower one?
The events in the previous over might have had a significant role in a one-dimensional attack in the subsequent one. On the first ball of his second over, Mohit Sharma attempted a slower ball, but Ambati Rayudu whacked it comfortably over the long-off region for a maximum. After being hit for a boundary off the fuller-length delivery, Mohit Sharma again went for a back-of-the-length low-pace ball, again resulting in a six.
Before these two off-pace balls, Mohit had executed three of a similar kind with success, but these two big hits off the contrasting lengths sowed the seeds of doubts in Mohit’s mind. Two consecutive wickets after conceding 16 runs in three deliveries were off the on-pace balls, which brought GT back into the game. Mohit also ended the over with a fuller-length speed-up ball.
Cut to the last over, Mohit Sharma was set to bowl his most crucial over of the season. The first two balls were pinpoint yorkers, both over 135 km/h, with the bowler giving away only one run. The third and fourth balls were the attempted yorkers but ended as the low full-tosses.
Both batters had the opportunity to dispatch them over the ropes, but Mohit Sharma somehow got away with them. Two things were crystal clear at this point – the bowler was losing his control of the yorkers, and he was becoming predictable. The game paused, with Mohit Sharma getting involved in an intense discussion with the captain Hardik Pandya.
In the meeting, the discussion must be whether the bowler should change his length to surprise the batters or stick with the current plan, which had fetched results, irrespective of the accuracy. With ten required off the final two, the decision to continue with the same was made, but Ravindra Jadeja was ready for it this time. Mohit Sharma erred his length marginally, but Jadeja, standing deep in his crease, got under the ball and thwacked over the long-on region for a maximum.
The equation was now down to four runs off a solitary delivery. Mohit still had a choice of changing his plans, as Jadeja was now up to the yorker challenge. Mohit again had a chat with Hardik, and after a brief talk, Mohit was ready to deliver the most crucial ball of his career with the same field. The bowler couldn’t hit the right length again, bowling a low full-toss, and the line was also down leg; a perfect ball for Ravindra Jadeja with the fine leg in the circle.
The maximum on the penultimate ball definitely played a massive role in that wayward delivery. No matter how much a bowler practises in the nets, the pressure in the actual game is different, something one can not experience in the practice sessions.
Jadeja just guided the ball as it raced to the boundary to send the CSK fans and players in jubilance. Despite having several options in his armour, Mohit Sharma became a predictable bowler. A bowler who barely put a foot wrong in the tournament was suddenly hapless.
“My mind was very clear in what I wanted to do. In the nets, I had practised such situations, and I have been in such scenarios before too. So I said let me bowl all balls yorkers and was backing my instinct,” stated Mohit Sharma about his plans in the last over.
Those two sixes by Ambati Rayudu off the slower deliveries might have restricted Mohit Sharma from trying them again. But Mohit could have tried at least one slower delivery into the pitch because the square boundaries were of decent size, and there was a massive possibility of the ball stopping a bit. Moreover, Ravindra Jadeja enjoys batting the pace, so Mohit could have tried dragging him out of his comfort zone.
While Mohit Sharma had bowled well in most of the games, his best performance came against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he defended 12 runs in the final over. Even in that over, Mohit changed his lengths and speeds to keep the batters guessing. That was the reason for his success.
But in the summit clash, Mohit delivered only five slower balls in the game, with all in his last over being the on-pace. Suddenly, he lost his trust in his different off-pace stuff.
In the 52nd game between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Sandeep Sharma had to defend 17 runs in the final over with Abdul Samad and Marco Jansen on the crease. Sandeep showed remarkable consistency in nailing the yorkers in the back end of the innings and again backed himself to launch the deliveries in the blockhole. To his credit, Sandeep leaked only 12 runs in the first six legitimate, but Sandeep had overstepped on the final ball.
Sandeep had to reload, and he again attempted a yorker but missed by a few inches. The ball ended up in the slot, and Abdul Samad got under it to snatch the victory from the jaws of defeat. Going for an all-out yorker plan had again misfired for a team, showing the risk of being one-dimensional in the death overs.
One can argue that Sandeep reaped success against MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja by sticking with the yorkers’ plan. But it’s worth noting that Sandeep had already erred numerous times in the over and had as many as 21 to defend. A few inches here and there, the outcome would have been different.
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The game last night again proved that a bowler should restrict himself from bowling yorkers consistently in the final few overs. No matter how elite an operator is, the bowlers will always remain human, and the pressure will get on their nerves in crunch moments. A bowler should keep himself flexible and different options open, as it allows them to remain unpredictable.
However, the final two deliveries shouldn’t take anything from the bowler. Mohit Sharma still bowled a terrific spell, and his last over was equally brilliant. CSK had Shivam Dube and Ravindra Jadeja operating, so 13 runs in six balls were achievable. CSK had wickets left, but Mohit still managed to take it to the last ball, which is commendable.
The bowling figures and the eventual outcome of a game are often what everyone remembers in the end. Mohit will always be remembered for conceding ten runs in the final two balls, but those who watched the match will appreciate his efforts. Regardless of the result, Mohit Sharma was among the best bowlers in the death overs in IPL 2023.
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