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Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Yash Thakur was arguably one of the finds of the tournament when it came to uncapped Indian players. He bowled some tough overs for Lucknow and took big wickets, including that of Mumbai Indians (MI) superstar Suryakumar Yadav.
LSG's clash against MI in the league stage was a crucial one as both teams needed two points to almost put one foot into the playoffs. MI seemed to be coasting to the target, but Thakur provided the much-needed breakthrough of 'SKY' as the star batter could only scoop the slower delivery onto his own stumps.
Speaking exclusively to News18 CricketNext, here's what Yash Thakur had to say about how he planned Suryakumar Yadav's dismissal:
“At the particular time when Suryakumar Yadav was batting we always knew if he gets set, then he will just smash us into every part of the ground. The plan was to keep it simple to him, don’t try too much. He is a smart guy and if I tried something (different) he would have smashed me for a six. Captain Krunal Pandya also told me to back my skills and at that particular time, we needed wickets. The plan was simple from my side as I didn’t want to give space to him to free his arms and I managed to hit the blockhole and get him out."
He further added:
"The celebration was impulsive as I was just thinking about that wicket only right from the first ball of the match because Suryakumar was in great form and I knew if I get his wicket the match will turn around in my team’s favour. And I managed to get him out."
Yash Thakur on bowling to Rinku Singh
Another crunch moment where Yash Thakur stepped up and delivered was during the last over of their final league game against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). LSG had to win to keep destiny in their own hands and Thakur was asked to defend 20 runs against an in-form Rinku Singh.
The young pacer held his nerve and ensured that Lucknow won the game by one run and qualified for the playoffs. Here's what he said about bowling to the dangerous KKR southpaw:
“Rinku was in terrific form at that particular time so I was thinking of bowling wide because the off-side boundary was a bit long I was thinking about that only as the leg-side boundaries were short. I tried to do that against him and mixed it up with a bouncer as he was not expecting that from me. I was very calm during that time as every ball matters during such situations and I took my time. Krunal Pandya also came to me and said ‘take a deep breath and think about your plan’ and I stuck to my plan only and was not thinking about anything else."
With Yash Thakur's ability to remain calm under pressure at the death overs, India could find a genuine pace option at least in T20Is if the young pacer delivers consistently.
