Sanju Samson deservedly received the Player of the Match award for his unbeaten century against Mumbai Indians that set up Chennai Super Kings’s win at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday. Another hero for the ‘Yellow Brigade’ from that game was Akeal Hosein, the left-arm spinner from Trinidad, who returned with 4/17 from four overs to sap the fight out of MI’s chase.
In CSK’s previous game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Hosein wasn’t picked and SRH’s left-handed top three played a part in the decision. The CSK team management learnt from their mistake, brought in Hosein as an Impact Sub against MI and opened the bowling with him irrespective of Quinton de Kock’s (a left-hander) presence at the top of the opposition batting order. Hosein took two wickets in the powerplay, forcing MI to play catch-up. When he returned for his second spell, he dismissed Tilak Varma to cancel out a back-end charge from the hosts.
What worked for Hosein? According to an insider, in private conversations after the game, the spinner spoke about the inputs from West Indies coach Daren Sammy that he took to heart as far as bowling at Wankhede was concerned. The trick was to bowl slower.
Hosein spoke about how the advice came from Sammy during West Indies’ game against England at the T20 World Cup at this venue two months ago. In that game also, Hosein opened the bowling and was economical (1/32 from four overs), as the West Indies successfully defended 196 to win it by 30 runs. Bowling slower through the air had worked for Hosein, as per the head coach’s advice. It is learnt that during the game against MI, he passed the message on to Noor Ahmad as well, who chipped in with a couple of wickets, giving away only 24 runs in four overs.
Speed Gun showed Hosein was bowling considerably slower against MI, in the mid-80s (kph) as put out by the host broadcaster. “It’s just about trying to compile all the information as quickly as possible and pass it on to your
teammate as clear as possible as well, because sometimes you can sort of lose your way in how you transfer messages,” Hosein said at the post-match press conference. “So it’s just about, you know, passing on the message as clearly as possible. And we do work well together.”
He spoke about doing the homework properly. “I was pretty happy with how I went about it today because it can be a bit challenging if you don’t adapt to the conditions quickly. Some deliveries come on a bit slower,” he said. “Some surfaces react differently. So it’s about just trying to do your homework as fast as possible.”
Looks can be deceptive. The Wankhede pitch for the game had grass. But as Hosein said: “Lots of times when you see grass on the pitch, and it’s fresh grass, the ball tends to grip and hold a bit.” He figured it out quickly, thanks to his past experience of bowling at this venue and Sammy’s tips.
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