CHENNAI: When Ravichandran Ashwin ran Jos Butler out at the bowler’s end in the 2018 IPL, it created a lot of controversy. Five years down the line, the ‘cheating tag’ to that form of dismissal has been diluted significantly and the term ‘Mankading’ has gone out from cricketing vocabulary.
Harshal Patel, with one run to defend against Lucknow Super Giants, tried the same thing at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Monday, only to miss it by a whisker. Ashwin, who was following the game, said that as Harshal was running in to bowl the last ball, he had told his wife about running the non-striker out!
“I was so happy to see a bowler having the guts to try that. More bowlers should try doing it. As long as it is within the rules, there is no harm in trying to use every trick in the book to win a game. In 2019, Punjab Kings would have qualified for the playoffs if they ran Rahul Chahar out,” Ashwin said on the sidelines of an event.
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Top 5: Most runs conceded in an IPL innings
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<p>The fast bowler from Kerala tops the list of an unwanted record which he would want to remove from it.<br /></p>
<p>While playing for SRH, Thampi gave away 70 runs in 4-over spell against the star-studded RCB at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. But thanks to the innings played by Williamson who scored 81 off 42 balls and Manish Pandey’s 62* which took SRH home in the run-chase.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Yash Dayal’s name is the latest entrant in this unforgettable list of the most runs conceded in an IPL innings. KKR required 29 runs off the final over, which everyone thought would be defended comfortably.<br /></p>
<p>But KKR’s Rinku Singh had some other plans and smashed Dayal for 5 sixes in a row to win the game for KKR from nowhere. Dayal conceded 69 runs in his 4-over spell which is second highest in the tournament.<br /></p>
<p>Once India’s go-to-go bowler, Ishant Sharma holds the third position in this list as he went for a massive sum of 66 runs in the 4 overs he bowled against the CSK back in the 2013 edition of the IPL<br /></p>
<p>One of Afghanistan’s prominent names, Mujeeb Ur Rahman holds the fourth position on this list.<br /></p>
<p>In a game against SRH in 2019, Rahman conceded 66 runs in 4 overs which resulted in SRH winning by 45 runs.<br /><br /></p>
<p>The name on this list is none other than India’s premium pacer Umesh Yadav.<br /></p>
<p>During his stint with DC in 2013, he got hammered for 65 runs in his spell which was then the most runs in an innings given by a bowler in IPL.<br /></p>
Ashwin feels strongly about this mode of run-out because he believes bowlers have to deal with a lot more than batters in T20 cricket.
“A bowler goes for 45 runs in four overs and it is highlighted that he had an off-day. But a batter gets four off eight balls and it is never mentioned. The lens needs to shift and I was so happy that Gujarat Titans stood by Yash Dayal that day after he was hit for five sixes in the last over,” he said.
‘I feel like a baseball pitcher’
Despite all his experience in all forms of cricket, the premier offie at times feels the odds are stacked too heavily against him while playing T20 cricket.
“At times, I feel like a baseball pitcher. I just crave for that extra few steps that a batter gets while batting while the bowler doesn’t. In T20 cricket, where the par score is shooting up every day, it is not just the bowler but the entire team management that has to come to play to stop the flow of runs. Dhoni keeps saying to stay in the moment. It’s a small thing but a crucial thing. I try to do that.”
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