‘He created an environment where we could play fearless cricket’: R Sai Kishore credits GT’s head coach Nehra for Four-fer vs PBKS

The Gujarat Titans got revenge as they defeated Punjab Kings on their home ground at Mullanpur Stadium in Mohali with a three-wicket win. It was the spinners who gave them the platform in the first innings as R Sai Kishore stole the show with a four-wicket haul against PBKS as they were bowled out for just 142 runs in 20 overs.

Sai Kishore was given the Player of the Match award for his efforts with the ball and while speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the orthodox left-arm bowler was only focused on enjoying his time off in the middle.

The spinner last featured in the tournament against CSK on March 26, leaving almost a month between his last two matches.

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“I just tried to give my 120% for the team and played after 20-25 days, so I just wanted to go there, enjoy and give it my all,” Kishore said.

The Tamil Nadu-based spinner credited the head coach Ashish Nehra for the environment created within the team that allows them to play fearless cricket.

He added, “Ashish Nehra has created a wonderful environment where we can be fearless and play for the team regardless of the result. He told me to enjoy myself and gave me a lot of freedom to express myself.”

The TN domestic team skipper revealed his plans to use the change of pace to his advantage. This was noticeable when he picked up his first wicket to dismiss Jitesh Sharma, dragging his length back and slowing the pace of his delivery, which went through the batsman and crashed onto the stumps.

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His second scalp was the dangerous Ashutosh Sharma who looked to clear the boundary between cover and deep point but ended up going to the fielder to take the catch. In this case he used the dimensions of the ground to his advantage.

His third wicket was another dangerous batsman, Shashank Singh with a flat length delivery that caught the batsman off guard as he pushed it straight back onto the bowler’s hands for the catch.

His last wicket was that of Harpreet Brar who looked to cross the boundary but the lack of pace meant the ball could not clear the fielder as the man on distance, Shahrukh Khan, jumped to take a brilliant catch on the ropes .

The bowler also revealed: ‘Instinctively I felt the wicket and thought a change of pace was the way to go here, it worked beautifully’.

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He did not forget to thank the fans and his teammates for their contribution as GT now sits sixth in the points table with 8 points in as many games.

“Thanks to everyone who attended today. Rahul played another great knock. Rashid and Noor bowled beautifully, a complete team effort,” concluded Kishore