Not Shami and Bumrah! Steve Smith wants to face a young Indian bowler in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
With Team India’s tour of Australia scheduled for November 2024, Aussie star Steve Smith is looking forward to face rising star Mayank Yadav, who has become the most famous Indian pacer. Mayank stunned the PBKS and RCB batters with his blistering pace and won two Player of the Match awards.
Mayank has quickly risen to the second spot in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap rankings, taking 6 wickets in just 2 matches. Meanwhile, the remaining top five contenders in the Purple Cap race have played three games each, respectively. Mayank’s performance against RCB was followed by Steve Smith from the commentary box. According to former Australia opener Matthew Hayden, Smith is looking forward to bat against Mayank Yadav in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Mayank’s exceptional spell of 3-14 at Chinnaswamy Stadium was crucial in LSG’s win against RCB. Restricting RCB for a modest 153, LSG won the match by 28 runs. Due to the exceptional bowling of LSG bowlers and some poor shot selection by RCB batters, the Bengaluru side never looked settled. Lucknow’s innovative move to open the bowling with Manimaran Siddharth and Krunal Pandya shocked Faf du Plessis and Virat Kohli. Despite the challenges, Kohli hit a six on Naveen Ul Haq’s delivery.
The momentum was broken as M Siddharth dismissed Kohli, who was caught by Devdutt Padikkal at backward point. RCB then lost wickets at regular intervals as Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green were sent back to the pavilion without making any significant contributions. RCB were 58/4 in 8 overs.
Mayank destroyed the middle order of RCB with a spell of sheer pace. Maxwell tried to play a shot on the delivery that was travelling at a speed of 151 kph, giving an easy catch to Nicholas Pooran. Green was bowled by Yadav. He got another wicket in the form of Rajat Patidar (27).
On Star Sports, Steve Smith said that bowling four overs is not the same as playing a 20-over spell and praised Mayank Yadav’s progress for his consistent good deliveries. He pointed out that Yadav has the ability to hit the right spots and keep a steady line, which are important qualities for young bowlers who frequently face trouble to control the pace.
“Mayank’s progress is great. He is pitching the ball on the right spots. Mayank is mixing his deliveries and ok he has the pace and talent to become one of the best fast bowlers. He is hitting right spots. It’s not an easy task to take on deliveries that clock 155 kph,” said Smith.
Smith also pointed out the use of less slower deliveries in LSG bowlers. Smith believes that Mayank has the variations and skill set to succeed in international cricket.
“There wasn’t a single slower ball in his spell. He has it in his arsenal bit never took it out. Batters can make room and use his pace against him. What really thrills me the fact that he’s just debuted couple of days ago. There will a lot of talks and hype about him but he took the wickets of three accomplished batters. Glenn Maxwell is a big name in the shortest format while Green who is known to counter pacers, even Patidar. But Yadav has proved himself,” he added.
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