After being ignored by IPL franchises, Sreesanth takes 5-wicket haul in Vijay Hazare Trophy
A few days after all IPL franchises decided to ignore him in the 2021 auction, S Sreesanth made a statement with a five-wicket haul in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The right-arm pacer dismantled the Uttar Pradesh cricket team in Bengaluru to end the first innings with figures of 5/65 in 9.4 overs.
Sreesanth could not make much of an impact in the initial phase of the Uttar Pradesh innings. But he bounced back in style and picked up five wickets later in the piece.
Sreesanth opened his account with Abhishek Goswami's wicket in the 21st over. Akshdeep Nath and Priyam Garg scored half-centuries to take the Uttar Pradesh team's score close to 250. Garg got run out in the 43rd over while Sachin Baby dismissed wicket-keeper Upendra Yadav after a few deliveries.
In the death overs, Sreesanth got the better of Uttar Pradesh skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Mohsin Khan lost his stumps to Sreesanth soon, while the well-set Akshdeep Nath departed for 68 after handing a catch to Rohith KG off Sreesanth's delivery.
Shivam Sharma was the last man to lose his wicket to Sreesanth as Uttar Pradesh collapsed from 242/4 to 283 all out. Sreesanth now has seven wickets to his name in two matches of the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Sreesanth has not played an ODI match since the 2011 Cricket World Cup Final
Sreesanth has performed brilliantly for Kerala after making his return to domestic cricket. Although the IPL franchises did not sign him at the 2021 auction, the pace bowler has not lost any motivation.
Sreesanth aims to return to the Indian team soon. His goal is to win the 2023 World Cup with Team India. It will be interesting to see if Sreesanth can make his ODI comeback after being away from the team for a decade.