[Watch] Ravi Bishnoi holds his nerve and picks up two wickets in 3 balls in 2nd Super Over to help India beat Afghanistan in 3rd T20I
Team India leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi displayed nerves of steel in a pressure situation and steered India to a hard-fought win in the 3rd T20I against Afghanistan on Wednesday (January 17). It was a thrilling encounter as two Super Overs were required to decide the winner at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru.
India batted first in the contest and made 212/4 after overcoming a top-order collapse. Afghanistan then batted brilliantly and managed to level the scores by reaching 212/6 at the end of the second innings.
The first Super Over also failed to separate the teams as both sides scored 16 runs in six balls. In the second super over, Rohit Sharma hit a six and four before taking a single as India reached 11/0 in three balls. Two wickets fell on the next two balls as India set a target of 12 for Afghanistan.
Rohit Sharma then made a brave call by giving the ball to spinner Ravi Bishnoi, who had figures of 4-0-38-0 in the second innings. Bishnoi repaid the faith by bowling wonderfully as he picked wickets on the first and third ball while only conceding a single in between to win the game for India.
You can watch the second Super Over in the video below:
"I'll keep focusing on how I can help my team win games": Ravi Bishnoi
Speaking after the conclusion of the match, Ravi Bishnoi opened up that he and Avesh Khan were prepared to bowl the Super Over, but the presence of two right-handers influenced the captain's decision to give him the ball. Reflecting on the over, Bishnoi said:
"It was quite fast (his heart rate). Both Avesh and I were prepared to bowl the Super Over but I was asked to bowl since two right-handers came out to bat. The plan was to bowl stump to stump and bowl back of a length off the second ball since if he looks to hit straight he'll have to play off the back foot."
Bishnoi continued:
"Feels really good - can't be a better feeling than defending the Super Over. I'll keep focusing on how I can help my team win games. The batters weren't ready for that ball so I tried bowling the leg-spinner and playing in the Ranji Trophy also helped me a lot."
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