"Reminds me of young Ravi Shastri in the World Championship of Cricket of 1985" - Fans hail Sai Kishore for game-changing spell vs PBKS

Gujarat Titans (GT) left-arm spinner Sai Kishore dismantled the Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the crucial IPL 2024 clash at Mullanpur on April 21.

Playing in only his third match of the season, the 27-year-old finished with incredible figures of 4/33 in his four overs. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer broke the back of the PBKS batting, picking up the crucial wickets of Jitesh Sharma, Shashank Singh, Ashutosh Sharma, and Harpreet Brar.

Sai Kishore has been part of the GT setup since its inception in 2022 but played only five games before this season. Among the best performers in the domestic circuit, the left-arm spinner has been unlucky not to feature as much for his pedigree.

Nevertheless, he picked up the massive wicket of Rohit Sharma in GT's opening win of the 2024 IPL season and should be a regular member after his showing today.

Fans on Twitter were extremely pleased with Sai Kishore's guile that had the PBKS batters dancing to his tunes.

Here are some of the best reactions:

The praises continued for Sai Kishore with one fan saying:

"I have always felt that Sai Kishore should be in the 11 every game. Particularly after his great opening game against MI. Well done today. Hopefully we get a good win today."

"Happy for Sai Kishore . Exceptional talent warming benches in GT! Well bowled today," tweeted a fan.

"Sai Kishore of GT reminds me of young Ravi Shastri in the World Championship of Cricket of 1985 in Australia. He seems to have more dip to fool the batter," a fan said.

"I gave my 120%, luckily it paid off" - Sai Kishore

Sai Kishore was delighted to feature in the playing XI against PBKS and spoke about pace variation being the key to his outstanding performance on the Mullanpur track.

The left-arm spinner registered his best IPL figures to help GT bowl PBKS out for a paltry 142.

At the mid-innings break, Sai Kishore said to the broadcasters:

"Definitely tried to play for the team, grateful for the opportunity given today. I gave my 120%, luckily it paid off. I felt I should slow it down on this pitch, instinct told me that was a better pace to bowl at. After the first two balls I realized bowling into the wicket is the way to go on this pitch and just tried to vary the pace and keep it tight. I feel the team comes first (on how difficult it is to sit on the sidelines), work hard, be honest and true to yourself."

GT is currently eighth in the points table with only three wins in seven outings and in desperate need of a victory to resurrect their IPL campaign.

They are currently on 36/1 in five overs in reply, needing a further 107 runs to win from 90 deliveries.