Krunal is very under-rated, he always does a good job: Swann

Former England spinner Graeme Swann heaped heavy praise on Lucknow Super Giants’ bowling unit after they defended a par score of 169 against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Monday (April 4). Avesh Khan and Jason Holder shared seven wickets between them, while Krunal Pandya claimed two crucial wickets in the middle overs to give Lucknow their second win of the season.

“I am quite impressed with Lucknow. I think Krunal is very under-rated. He always does a good job and is difficult to get away. He is good at bowling into the pitch, which is just the back of a good length. And, Ravi Bishnoi is excellent. Actually, most of the spinners for almost every franchise are looking in very good form. They are all doing well and it’s great to see that,” Swann told Cricket.com.

Lucknow acquired Avesh for INR 10 crore and the right-arm paceman seems to be doing the job for his franchise. He dismissed Abhishek Sharma and Kane Williamson in the powerplay and then got rid of dangerous Nicholas Pooran and Abdul Samad in the 18th over to turn the game in Lucknow's favour. They were also bolstered by the inclusion of Holder who claimed three wickets in the final over and sealed the deal for the Super Giants.

"Jason Holder is back and his first game had to be against the Sunrisers (his previous franchise). He is a wonderful cricketer. He always picks up wickets but always seems to have lady luck by his side. I am not taking anything away from him. For people who are in good form and are great cricketers, little things tend to go their way. The first ball of the last over was a length ball that could have easily gone for a six but ended up being a mishit. There are a lot of franchises that wish we had him on our team,” said Swann. 

"Avesh is in very good form and is a very good bowler. That 10 crore is now looking like money well spent. What impressed me the most was that he got hit for a six off the very first ball of his second spell but he didn’t lose the plot and got two wickets in the same over. He kept his pace up and bowled really well. He is picking up wickets and it’s very important for any captain. He looks happy and it’s good to see."   

Meanwhile, Hyderabad have now lost two games in a row and are one of the three franchises who are yet to win a game in this season. Pooran finally got some runs but the likes of Abhishek, Williamson and Samad are yet to fire. However, Swann is not too concerned about Williamson and Co. They won the toss and opted to bowl in both these games but failed to get the job done in the second innings. Swann feels they do need to reflect on this particular strategy and probably try to bat first if they win the toss in their next encounter.

“It wasn’t a classic 200-chasing kind of a match, but I would say it was still a pretty good game. You don’t always see 170 get defended, it’s generally a par score. It looked like SRH were timing their required rate okay but never really got their noses in front. Sunrisers will be highly disappointed that they fell short.

“They have tried something twice and it didn't work. I saw a lot of things that were very good from SRH, while a few things just aren’t there. Maybe because some of the players are not in form. Players like Pooran is improving and his form is getting better. He will get confidence from this knock and he is an absolute gun. Kane Williamson got off to a decent start but then got out. But when he kicks on, they could easily chase and post any total they want. They also have a solid backroom staff and I am not too concerned about them.”

One thing that did work in SRH’s favour was to bowl Washington Sundar in the powerplay. The offspinner dismissed Quinton de Kock and Evin Lewis in his first two overs and helped Hyderabad reduce Lucknow to 27/3 before KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda took them to a competitive total. 

“It’s a very tactical move to go with offspinner against Quinton as he is very good against the seamers early in the innings. He had those cover drives and pull shots but is not too comfortable against offspin. He doesn’t mind deliveries turning into him so much as can play those big slog sweeps. However, he doesn’t like the angle coming in and then straightening out. Washington Sundar was a perfect match for him.”