Selfless Axar and Bishnoi turned the game around for India: Prasidh

‘Dew’ was the key-word going into the second T20I here in Thiruvananthapuram. It has often been a big deciding factor in T20 clashes here in India, and it was a major driving force behind Matthew Wade opting to bowl first. 

But India took the attack to the Australian bowling unit, with Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring his half-century in the powerplay and helping India set a strong tone. Ishan Kishan picked up from where he left in the first T20I as the top three scored crucial half-centuries for the side. To top it all, Rinku Singh’s cameo (9-ball 31) was the perfect ending as India scored 235/4. 

Suryakumar Yadav’s ploy of bowling the spinners was tricky but justified with dew setting in pretty early during the run-chase. It was the duo of Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi who turned the game around. 

Bishnoi removed the in-form Matthew Short and Josh Inglis before Axar put an end to Glenn Maxwell’s cameo. Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna praised the selfless duo for changing the game. 

“For Axar and Bishnoi to bowl the way they did, they played a very important role despite dew setting in. It is how our bowling unit works, there are going to be days when some of us aren’t going to have a good day. The others step in and work selflessly. Today that really helped us in the second half,” Prasidh said in the post-match press conference. 

On dew, the Indian pacer reckoned that the name of the game is to adapt and execute your plans properly. 

“You initially have a plan, if that doesn’t work, you have to adapt. There is a lot of information available in the nets. It doesn’t matter what your plans are, you have to find a way to adapt according to the situation. You need to turn off that practise and trial mode when it comes to the game and be able to execute it perfectly,” he insisted. 

Were the Indian team prepared for the amount of dew? Prasidh revealed that the team has done intense practise over the last few days on tackling dew and narrated that the effect of dew started kicking in early in the eighth over, with Mukesh Kumar bowling. 

“We were planning to tackle the dew even in Vizag but luckily we didn’t have to. Here, we were prepared, we knew that dew was going to play a huge role. It was really wet, even in the eight over when Mukesh (Kumar) was bowling, he told me there was a lot of dew. This is part of the challenge of playing in India. As a bowling unit, we need to learn to tackle it,” he stated. 

“We tried a lot of things - cutters, length balls and yorkers. Slower ball was skidding through, and we executed some yorkers well. We practise putting the ball in the water, but then there’s no real game pressure at practise, unlike a match. You can’t do much about the dew, had to change a towel after just one over. So, you have to keep your cool and hold your nerves.”

The 27-year-old also shed light on the pitch and conditions, stating that the team was aware of how the pitch was going to play in the first half - on the slower side - due to the soil being from Karnataka. 

“Spoke to the curator, and he told me that a part of the soil was from Karnataka, so we knew that it was going to be slightly on the slower side but with dew, we knew that batting would be easier in the second half. 

Suryakumar’s captaincy has been quite effective in the first two clashes, with some tactical bowling changes that have come good for the national team. Prasidh praised Surya’s leadership, stating that it is all about backing and freedom. 

“Suryakumar (Yadav) trusts his players, that’s been the name of the game. He backs all of us to do well, and is there to support us if something goes wrong. Freedom, go and execute your plans, that’s the word in the dressing room.”