Delhi Daredevils‘ bowling coach Sridharan Sriram, post humiliating defeat at the hands of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), asked fast bowler Mohammed Shami to sort out his bowling strategies.
The retained player for Delhi was plundered to all parts of the ground by Andre Russell and other batters, as he went for an economy of 13.25 runs per over.
Shami ended up conceding 53 runs in his quota of four overs.
Even though Shami is India’s premier bowler in Tests, his stats in Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket does not do justice to his reputation.
The Bengal-based pacer averages 51.33 in his overall career with an economy of a shade under 10.
“It was time for Shami to come up with some sort of strategy while bowling. Shami needs to come up with some sort of strategy,” Sridharan Sriram mentioned according to Sportstar.
To make matters worse, a catch off his bowling was also dropped by Jason Roy.
“He started well; the first couple of catches were good. But then, there was a dropped catch. Had that worked [out], it would have been a different day for him,” continued the former Indian international.
At the 10 over-stage, Kolkata Knight Riders were looking at a score around the range of 150-160. However, Nitish Rana and Andre Russell batted out of their skins – to take the score to 200.
Dropped catch by Jason Roy was crucial: Sriram
“That’s what sports is all about. Then, he got on the wrong side of Russell, and if that happens you need to think quickly. He just lost the lot quickly,” the bowling coach added.
Delhi’s batting unit could not quite repeat their heroics at Wankhede, chasing 201, and in the end, decapitated by a margin of 71 runs, thereby, affecting their net run-rate.
Sridharan Sriram, then, reflects on the dropped catch of Russell by the hero from the previous match against MI, Jason Roy.
“The way they got 200 was a bit too much. 170-180 was about a par score. The Russell blitzkrieg in the middle took the game away. When it is in that sort of flow, it is difficult to stop him. We did all sorts of planning but the execution was not right,” the former Australian spin assistant quoted.
At one stage, KKR were reeling at 117 for four with the loss of the wicket of their captain Dinesh Karthik.
However, Rana and Russell added 61 in the next four overs – to change the game in the end.
“Had Russell got out early, we could have stopped them for 160. That dropped catch by Jason Roy was crucial. Had he been gone, Rana would not have been that dangerous in the end,” concluded Sridharan Sriram.
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