‘Best IPL performance so far in 2020’ – Ravi Shastri lauds Washington Sundar for his masterful spell against Mumbai Indians

Washington Sundar didn’t have much to do with the ball in hand in the first two matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, on Monday, September 29, he was at his very best against the Mumbai Indians (MI). At the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Sundar turned out to be the most economical bowler.

The Young Turk was entrusted to bowl in the powerplay and he didn’t flatter to deceive by any stretch of the imagination. In three over during the mandatory field-restrictions, the off-spinner gave away only seven runs and also picked up the crucial wicket of Rohit Sharma, who, unsuccessfully, tried to smash him for a six over the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Washington Sundar shines

Overall, Sundar conceded a mere 12 runs in his four overs at an incredible economy rate of three. He didn’t leak a single boundary and bowled as many as 13 dot balls. Due to his pin-point bowling, Rohit and Co could only get 35 runs, losing two wickets, in the first six overs.

In the meantime, Ravi Shastri, the head coach of the Indian national cricket team, lauded Sundar for his masterful spell on a strip, which turned out to be a bowler’s graveyard. The veteran also called Sundar’s performance the best in the ongoing edition of the T20 tournament.

He took to Twitter and wrote, “In a batsman’s world – from Chennai to Washington. Best IPL performance so far in 2020. Special #IPL2020 #RCBvMI.”

Here is Shastri’s tweet: 

As far as the match was concerned, it turned out to be a nail-biting affair. After being put in to bat, RCB amassed 201 in their 20 overs. Devdutt Padikkal, Aaron Finch and AB de Villiers scored fifties and propelled them to the massive total. Shivam Dube’s 10-ball 27 also helped. The Challengers managed to press the accelerator in the death overs.

In the run-chase, when Ishan Kishan and Kieron Pollard were batting, MI kept having jitters. However, the game went into the Super Over where RCB managed to hold their nerve. Fast bowler Navdeep Saini gave only seven runs after which de Villiers and Virat Kohli got them through.