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Kerala pacer Sreesanth has made headlines once again after picking up a wicket against Andhra in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2021 by bowling leg-spin.
With Andhra marching towards a win at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex, Sreesanth decided to bowl leg-break in an action very similar to Anil Kumble.
He bowled a short-pitched delivery to Andhra opener Ashwin Hebbar (48 off 46), who pulled off the front foot and found Vishnu Vinod at deep midwicket.
Sreesanth started as a leg-spinner
As a youngster, Sreesanth had started his career as a leg-spinner and had modelled his action on his hero Anil Kumble. He also reportedly admired Australian legend Shane Warne.
However, Sreesanth quickly switched to fast bowling and trained under the watchful eyes of former Aussie pacer Dennis Lillee, transforming into one of India's leading fast bowlers in the 2000s. He was a part of India's World Cup wins in 2007 (T20I) and 2011.
On Sunday, the 37-year-old finished with respectable figures of 3-0-25-1. However, this couldn't prevent Kerala's defeat at the hands of Andhra, as Ambati Rayudu led his side to victory, scoring 38* in 27 balls.
Playing their fourth match of the tournament, Kerala registered their first defeat and have now slipped to the second spot in Group E after Haryana. The win also marked Andhra's first win in four games.
Sreesanth hasn't set the stage on fire at SMAT
Sreesanth returned to cricket after almost eight years, having served a ban for his involvement in the spot-fixing controversy that had rocked IPL 2013. Since his return, the controversial pacer has not been shy to show his emotions. He picked up his first wicket against Puducherry in Kerala's opening match.
Against Mumbai, Sreesanth was smacked for two consecutive sixes after he sledged young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The pacer later praised the Mumbai youngster.
Since his return to cricket, Sreesanth has picked up four wickets in as many games at 36.75, and an economy rate of 9.8.
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