"I cannot understand how he failed to connect any one of those" - Virender Sehwag on David Miller's finishing woes against MI in IPL 2022
Mumbai Indians (MI) secured a last-gasp win over the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the 51st match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 on Friday. The Rohit Sharma-led side defended nine runs in the last over to seal their third win of the tournament.
David Miller played three dot balls in the last over while facing Daniel Sams in their IPL 2022 clash. Former Indian batter Virender Sehwag failed to understand how Miller failed to hit any of the slower deliveries in the final over.
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GT looked in complete control of the match until the final three overs. Admitting that he did not see the five-time winners making a comeback in the contest, Virender Sehwag said on Cricbuzz:
"The bowling in the last over was not that special that prevented them from scoring those 9 runs. I did not expect them to come back in this fashion. Credit to Sams, all of the balls were slower ones. I cannot understand how Miller failed to connect any one of those. The last two balls did not even touch his bat."
Daniel Sams was handed the task of defending nine runs in the final over against David Miller and Rahul Tewatia. The Australian all-rounder bowled a slew of cutters and conceded only three runs that led to his team's third win in IPL 2022.
Sehwag credited Sams as well as Jasprit Bumrah and Kieron Pollard for their execution of slower deliveries in the latter stages of the second innings. He said:
"How many bowlers are there who can defend 9 runs in an over. In this tournament, bowlers have been unable to defend even 22-23 runs. We all thought Tewatia might hit one, irrespective of the boundary size. Bumrah and Pollard also executed their slower balls well. "
Sehwag added:
"When one bowler's slower ball grips, the message is passed around so that the other bowlers can try as well. Sams never thought of bowling the yorker or the bouncer. I was impressed by Sams today."
The left-arm all-rounder was dropped from playing XI after conceding 35 runs against Pat Cummins earlier in the tournament. However, he has made a strong statement with both bat and ball since his callback to the team.
"If you see the history of MI, you don't see a lot of Orange Cap or Purple Cap winners" - RP Singh on MI's form in IPL 2022
With only astronomical odds on their side in terms of playoffs qualification, the last placed side have now secured back-to-back wins. The five-time winners endured the worst start in the history of IPL after losing their first eight matches.
एक नंबर celebrations from the एक नंबर boys! 😎💙
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Believing that the team still has a lot of areas to improve upon despite their recent surge in form, RP Singh said during the same interaction:
"Still a lot to be improved from their perspective, but they are in a zone now where they can disturb other teams. If you see the history of their team, you don't see a lot of Orange Cap or Purple Cap winners, this is a team where players contribute, numbers might be a little low but the contribution will be there."
RP Singh concluded:
This was a good win for them to show their character and show why they are a big side."
In the history of the franchise, only Sachin Tendulkar and Lasith Malinga have claimed the Orange Cap and Purple Cap respectively. The ace batter was the leading run scorer in the 2010 edition while the Sri Lankan pacer claimed the award in the subsequent season.
The Rohit Sharma-led side will next face the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the DY Patil Stadium on May 9 (Monday) in IPL 2022.