Ashwini’s length ball (Photo: PTI)
It is said in cricket that one ball can change the course of a match. But, the one ball of Ashwini Kumar that we are talking about is not related to one ball being bowled in an over but to bowling the same type of ball again and again. When Mumbai Indians came to defend their set target of 200 runs against Gujarat Titans on the Ahmedabad ground, their young bowler Ashwini Kumar had only one thought in mind. Focusing on the length ball in your quiver. Make him your weapon against Gujarat and shield for your team.
Ashwini Kumar’s deadly weapon ‘length ball’
Left arm fast bowler Ashwini Kumar also told about his intention to focus on his length ball after the match. He said that when I went to the field and saw the pitch, I found that the length ball would have more impact on it. In such a situation, I thought of using it more. I made a plan with Hardik Bhaiya and backed my plan, which I got results from.
How many balls bowled on full, good and short lengths?
Now let us know how Ashwini Kumar’s length ball affected Gujarat Titans. He bowled 4 overs in the match, taking 4 wickets for 24 runs. Now 4 overs i.e. 24 balls and all length balls are just variations. Like Ashwini bowled 2 balls at full length. He bowled 7 balls at good length and kept the remaining 15 balls at short length. All four wickets that Ashwini got were at short lengths.
GT’s work is done after failing to play the length ball
Due to the havoc wreaked havoc by Ashwini’s length ball, Gujarat Titans had to face their biggest defeat in IPL in terms of runs. The pain of this terrible impact was also visible in the statement of Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill after the match. He admitted that we failed to play the length ball the way we should have in the middle overs and the work was done.
What was the problem with the length ball, Gill told
Shubman Gill admitted that the length ball was not coming on the bat well. There were ups and downs. Like some balls were not coming and some were coming. Many length balls were staying very low. It is clear that a length ball has troubled Gujarat Titans very badly.
