'Malinga, Paras sir helped me': Ashwani Kumar hails MI pace bowling think tank after Eliminator success

Mint

5 days ago

Mullanpur (Punjab) [India], May 31 (ANI): Mumbai Indians' (MI) young talent Ashwani Kumar outlined his plan of attack on Mullanpur's flat turf after being introduced as an impact substitute during their high-stakes Eliminator fixture against Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Ashwani, a young left-arm quick, is among the talents unearthed by MI scouts and has continued to prove why Mumbai has had his back throughout the season.
During Mumbai's attempt to defend the imposing 228/5, Gujarat responded boldly and clobbered MI bowlers relentlessly to stay close to the asking rate at the halfway stage with 106/2 on the board.
MI captain Hardik Pandya and the team management were forced to dish out a game-defining move to sway the game's flow in their favour. Moments before the 11th over, Ashwani Kumar was introduced as an impact substitute in place of seasoned opener Rohit Sharma, offering Mumbai another pace bowling option for the second half of the innings.
The 23-year-old was straightaway handed the ball to create an impact in the 12th over. He defused Gujarat's attempts to stage a boundary fest and saved 21 runs in the last three balls of the final over after Richard Gleeson was unable to finish off his over.
Ashwani spilt the beans about the conversations behind the field and admitted that using a spinner as an impact substitute was on the cards. But once he was picked out, coaches Lasith Malinga and Paras Mhambrey offered valuable insights to help him thrive.
"The talk was about bowling carefully. The wicket was flat. We might have included a spinner. But then I was introduced as the impact player. Malinga sir and Paras (Mhambrey) sir helped me with ideas," Ashwani said after the match.
Ashwani reaped the rewards for his hard work after forcing Shahrukh Khan to dispatch the ball straight into the hands of Suryakumar Yadav at extra cover in the final over and returned with figures of 1/28 in 3.3 overs.
"I was focusing on my plan. And bowled to my strengths. I just didn't want to bowl a wide or a no-ball while bowling the last three balls," he concluded.
The story of Mumbai's 20-run triumph against the Titans began with a relentless 81-run onslaught from Rohit and finishing touches from Hardik that lifted Mumbai to 228/6. Gujarat responded boldly with Sai Sudharsan carrying the Titans on his back with his 80(49) blitzkrieg, but eventually gave in to the pressure, allowing Mumbai to seal a date with Punjab Kings in Qualifier 2 on Sunday. (ANI)