Shane Watson reveals why he opted for Pawan Negi in the last over

The Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday went off the mark with their first victory in the 10th season of the Indian Premier League against the Delhi Daredevils. Batting first, the Shane Watson’s men put up a not so impressive score of 157 on the board. But they were successful in defending the low score as they bowled wonderfully to restrict the Delhi Daredevils to a score of 142.

Delhi required 19 runs of the last over and Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Shane Watson gambled with Pawan Negi, who did not bowl a single over in the match until that stage, to bowl the last over. The move proved to be hugely successful as Negi dismissed Rishabh Pant of his first ball and picked up two wickets for three runs helping Royal Challengers earn 2 points.

The Australian all-rounder had exhausted all his bowling options except Iqbal Abdullah who had an over left. But Watson opted for Pawan Negi instead of Iqbal Abdullah who went for 36 runs in his 3 overs.

Speaking about his decision to bring on Negi at such a crucial situation of the match Watson quoted at the presentation ceremony “Just my gut feel with Negi. Pant hadn’t seen him all night. I knew if I had to bowl Iqbal, he had already seen him bowl three. So it was a gamble, no doubt about that. But I know the way Negi bowls, with his variations of speed and flight as well. He’s ready to take on especially against his old team so it worked out very nicely for him.”

Royal Challengers Bangalore has now opened their account and would be desperate to carry on the momentum in the next game against the Kings XI Punjab. They would also be hoping that Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers gets fit as soon as possible adding more strength to the squad.