MUMBAI : Chennai Super Kings pace spearhead Ashish Nehra said dismissing Rohit Sharma, when the Mumbai Indians’ skipper was poised for a late assault, proved to be crucial in his side’s six-wicket triumph over the home side in an IPL match here.
“It wasn’t easy with not only Kieron Pollard hitting from one side. Everybody knows what kind of player Rohit Sharma is and what he can do. That was a timely wicket,” said the left-arm speedster after the game which provided the visitors their third successive win of the season and confined the hosts to their fourth straight defeat.
The Delhi-born bowler, who was part of the triumphant 2011 Indian World Cup squad before injuries sidelined him, grabbed 2 for 23 which included an up-front spell of 2 for 15 in three overs.
He was adjudged man of the match award for his brilliant bowling.
He had Sharma caught by Dwayne Bravo when the MI captain and Pollard, who blasted five sixes in making a 30-ball 64, had rallied the hosts from 57 for 4 to 132.
The 35-year-old, who put MI on the back foot by taking the wickets of Parthiv Patel and Corey Anderson to leave the hosts tottering at 6 for 2, said he did not expect skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to bring him on again to bowl the 15th over.
“I have been somebody who, in one-day cricket, has bowled ten overs in three spells or in T20 bowled three overs up front or the last 1-2 overs. Even today Mahendra Singh (Dhoni) gave me over number 15,” he said.
“At one stage, I was thinking he’s giving it to me too early. He came up to me and told me we need wickets the way game is going you know last 4-5 overs can be 80-90 runs. You have to look to pick wickets and I always try to pick wickets and that’s exactly what happened,” he added. (AGENCIES)
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