Rajasthan Royals and team India’s veteran spinner Ravi Ashwin is all praise for his RR teammate Sandeep Sharma for his brilliant performance with the ball against the Lucknow Super Giants in the Royals first encounter of the season.
Sandeep Sharma just gave away 22 runs in his four overs and picked up a wicket, helping his team beat LSG by 20 runs in their opening encounter.
Ashwin also praised Sanju Samson and Riyan Parag for batting brilliantly. The duo added 93 runs out of just 52 deliveries, helping Rajasthan post a score in excess of 190 on the scoreboard.
Speaking about the same, Ashwin said, “I think it was a wicket of two halves; I thought it stuck in the pitch in the first half; it was a bit tacky; it depends on how much water you put on. Sanju and Riyan batted really well, but I felt we were 10 runs short, with so many impact players coming up in the form of Hetmyer and Jurel. But the pitch holds up well over here. I went for 12 off the first two balls; it needs a different mindset, having come from Test cricket. I’m in a good mental and physical space at the moment, though. I went for 15 in the 1st over in the powerplay; I bowl 2 or 3 at times; I try to forget it away; it’s a different ball game after the powerplay.”
Ashwin also praised his teammate Nandre Burger for his impressive performance in his first IPL match and is hoping that the bowler will continue to improve in the near future.
Ashwin said, “The game is built on perceptions; if you look at the way Sandy has bowled, he has been a top-5 bowler (in the IPL)—he’s a character, does the dirty work for us, and did a lot to cover for Prasidh in the last season as well. I see him as a fighter; bowlers getting 2 bouncers is the only fillip in this format, and the bowlers are looking to use it. Boult has performed for a long time, and Nandre did well in his first game. I see him doing a lot more in the future.”
Rajasthan Royals are set to face Delhi capitals on March 28. This will be their second game of the season.
