Talented youngster Riyan Parag turned out to be the surprise bowling package during India’s 1st T20I match against Sri Lanka. He shared the mantra behind his mystery bowling spell and said that he had discussions about being prepared for such situations with head coach Gautam Gambhir as well. Parag claimed three wickets against Sri Lanka and helped India win the first match at the Pallakele Stadium on July 27, Saturday as well. However, the BCCI shared a special video on their social media handle after India’s win, featuring Riyan Parag, captain Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel as well.
“I love bowling. I bowl as much as I can behind the scenes. At the nets, there was a lot of communication regarding where to bowl and how to bowl. There were preparations for such situations with Gautam sir. If I get bowling in the 16th and the 17th over and the wicket is spinning, then where I have to bowl. The boys made it easier for me, I just had to bowl stump to stump, and the ball was turning as well,” Parag said in the video.
Meanwhile, C=captain Suryakumar Yadav also praised Parag for his bowling as the youngster bowled well to dismiss the Sri Lankan batters and derail their chase too. Sri Lanka were once cruising in the chase of 214 runs as they stood at 140/1 by the 14th over but they lost the plot and fell short of the target by 43 runs eventually.
“This could be a Riyan Parag special only as I have seen him bowling earlier as well during the IPL, at the nets. During the press conference as well, I said that Riyan Parag has an ‘X’ factor,” Suryakumar Yadav said in the video. “If batters continue to bat like that and the bowlers will continue helping like that on the ground, then my job will get easier. What the situation was, I set the tempo of the game with my batting. We have so much depth in batting, they have so much skill that if our skill doesn’t work then the others will take care of things.”
However, Suryakumar Yadav, who led from the front as captain, said that he wanted to be a leader and was impressed with the crowd support at Pallekele as well.
“Not a captain, I want to be a leader. It is good to see so much support in this country as well. Sri Lanka is just two-and-a-half hours away only, feels like we are playing in India only. I hope we keep getting the support like this, and the rest we will take care,” he said.
