Bishnoi returns with career best figures to leave poor IPL season behind

Ravi Bishnoi had a poor 2024 season in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Picking only 10 wickets in 14 matches, he averaged 38.3 at an economy of 8.8, both the worst for him in any IPL season. 

It cost him a spot in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad. While Kuldeep Yadav was always going to be the first-choice spinner, Bishnoi was also a strong contender to be the additional spinner. In nine T20Is between the 50-over World Cup and the 2024 IPL, he snapped 15 wickets at 19.3 runs apiece while also bowling the tough overs. 

His poor start to the 2024 IPL season undid all his good work in international cricket, with Yuzvendra Chahal sneaking in to take that spot. Bishnoi couldn’t cope in the second half of the season either, delivering a forgettable season overall.

The five T20Is in Zimbabwe couldn’t have come at a better time for the leg-spinner to turn the table on his bad form. Bishnoi grabbed the opportunity right away, pouching his career-best figures of 4/13 in the first T20I on Saturday (July 6).

In fact, Bishnoi hit the timber off his first ball in the game. Introduced into the attack to close out the powerplay, the 23-year-old bowled one of his classic googlies to bamboozle Brian Bennett. 

The dismissal was an ominous sign in itself. The ball gripped and turned, going through Bennett’s defence and showcasing help for spinners. The fact that Bishnoi hit the mark off his first ball reflected that he was on the money that day. 

Moreover, leg-spinners from Test-playing nations have a history of running through the smaller teams. Especially those who deal heavily in googlies, an undecipherable delivery for batters who haven’t faced enough quality leg-spin. And Bishnoi deals primarily in spinning the ball the other way.

Andy Flower, the former Zimbabwe skipper and Bishnoi’s former coach in the IPL for Lucknow Super Giants, was present in the commentary box during the leggie’s first over. The first thing he mentioned was that Zimbabwe would need to be wary of Bishnoi’s stock delivery. 

Bishnoi bowled 20 googlies, with figures of 4/10. More than 90% of his deliveries were near around the same spot in the good length zone.

Bishnoi started with a wicket-maiden, bowling five dots to Zimbabwe’s premier batter, Sikandar Raza. He didn’t concede a run off his first nine balls, seizing whatever momentum Zimbabwe had gathered with 17 runs off the fifth over. 

Two balls later, Bishnoi’s flatter trajectory went underneath Wessly Madhevere’s attempt to sweep. His figures read 1.5-1-2-2 at that point. 

In his second spell, he rushed through the hosts’ lower order. Having started with a wicket-maiden, Bishnoi finished with a double-wicket maiden, pinning Luke Jongwe and hitting the stumps of Blessing Muzarbani. 

It is only the fifth instance of an Indian bowler bowling two maidens in a T20I innings. With three bowleds in this innings, Bishnoi also has the joint second-most bowled dismissals for an Indian spinner in T20Is (14). Zimbabwe collapsed from 89/5 to 90/9 in the blink of an eye, eventually scoring 115/9 in their 20 overs. 

More than anything, it is the timing of this series, right after a World Cup win, when the focus will shift to bleeding in a few youngsters. The backup players over the last cycle will become more relevant now, and Bishnoi has ensured his name is first on the list. 

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