Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pace bowler Yash Thakur was arguably one of the best finds of the IPL 2023 when it came to uncapped Indian players. He did well for Lucknow and took big wickets, including that of Mumbai Indians (MI) superstar Suryakumar Yadav. LSG’s match against MI in the league stage was a crucial one as both teams needed a point to reach the playoffs. MI seemed to have won the game, but Yash Thakur provided the much-needed breakthrough of ‘SKY’ as the talented batter got out.
Speaking exclusively to News18 CricketNext, Yash Thakur said: “At the particular time when Suryakumar Yadav was batting we always knew if he gets set, then he will just smash us into every part of the ground. The plan was to keep it simple to him, don’t try too much. He is a smart guy and if I tried something (different) he would have smashed me for a six. Captain Krunal Pandya also told me to back my skills and at that particular time, we needed wickets. The plan was simple from my side as I didn’t want to give space to him to free his arms and I managed to hit the blockhole and get him out. The celebration was impulsive as I was just thinking about that wicket only right from the first ball of the match because Suryakumar was in great form and I knew if I get his wicket the match will turn around in my team’s favour. And I managed to get him out.”
However, he held his nerve and ensured that Lucknow Super Giants won the game by one run and qualified for the playoffs as well.
“Rinku was in terrific form at that particular time so I was thinking of bowling wide because the off-side boundary was a bit long I was thinking about that only as the leg-side boundaries were short. I tried to do that against him and mixed it up with a bouncer as he was not expecting that from me. I was very calm during that time as every ball matters during such situations and I took my time. Krunal Pandya also came to me and said ‘take a deep breath and think about your plan’ and I stuck to my plan only and was not thinking about anything else,” he concluded.
