Playing the sport by the book does not apply to T20 cricket. Players like AB de Villiers, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and others have revolutionised stroke-making over the years. Now, even in red-ball cricket, players are adopting unorthodox ways to score. In the ongoing Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), one such shot surprised many as the batter went entirely across and hit a wide ball outside off stump over fine leg for a boundary.
The incident took place in the 12th over of Dindigul Dragons' innings. After five wickets fell for 63, C Sarath Kumar and Adithya Ganesh were new to the crease. On the second ball of the 12th over, Sarath pre-meditated a sweep shot over short fine leg but Bhasker bowled it wide. Sarath stayed true to his plan and fell over trying to hit the sweep shot over the 30-yard circle and for a boundary. He almost cleared the fine leg rope with the kind of power he generated from the shot.
Sarath went on to score 25 runs from 21 balls including three fours. He shared a crucial 61-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Ganesh who contributed with a 30-ball 44. It was followed by a cameo of 13-ball 31 by Suboth Bhati which helped Dragons post a fighting total of 170/9 against Chepauk Super Gillies.
With the help of Varun Chakaravarthy's three-fer and some brilliant death bowling, Dragons were able to win the last-ball thriller by one run despite Baba Aparajith's 40-ball 74.
This was Dragons' third win of the tournament. With three convincing wins, they are on the top of points table as they have a slightly better net run rate (NRR) than Sharukh Khan-led Lyca Kovai Kings.
“It was a good game. I'll give a big award to my team for defending on this pitch because it was difficult. We bat till XI, so I think he (Sarath) will pull off a great performance some time in the tournament,” Ashwin said in the post-match presentation as his team continued their winning run in the tournament.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
‘He may have felt hurt’: CSK CEO settles Jadeja vs Dhoni debate once and for all
ICC and BCCI turn down PCB's request for change of ODI World Cup 2023 venues: Report
