IPL 2020 recap: Navdeep Saini’s courageous show in Super Over

When the two Indian stalwarts - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - go head-to-head, it promises to be no less than a blockbuster. Royal Challengers Bangalore faced Mumbai Indians at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on 28th September, 2020.

It was just another day where batsmen meant business from the moment they walked out to bat. The bowlers, on the other hand, had an arduous time containing the flow of runs. Half-centuries from Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch, and AB de Villiers helped RCB set a mammoth total of 201-3. In reply, MI’s chase did not begin on a promising note. With the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Quinton de Kock, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya back in the hut early, MI’s faithful Keiron Pollard and Ishan Kishan did the unthinkable. The duo put on a 119-run stand and managed to tie the scores. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians could not be separated in the allotted 40 overs of play. Such is T20 cricket. 

Despite conceding 43 runs off his full quota of overs, Navdeep Saini was entrusted with the responsibility of bowling the Super Over. On a night where batsmen went hammer and tongs against the bowlers, it all boiled down to the pacers to prove their mettle for their respective sides in the Super Over. Saini decided to go old-school and used the yorkers to keep the batsmen at bay. With the batsmen coming up with new techniques to muster runs, the margin of error is very minimal. However, the pacer stuck to his plan. He put his hand up and displayed a courageous bowling performance, conceding only 7 runs against the belligerent MI batting attack. As the renowned saying goes, “it doesn’t matter how we begin. What matters is how we end it. “ - the Karnal express had just done it. AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli made light work of what was meant to be a formality chase.