Lucknow (IANS) | Lucknow Super Giants fast bowler Mohsin Khan has dedicated his match-winning spell against Mumbai Indians to his father. Mohsin’s father was hospitalized till a day before the match.
Mohsin bowled brilliantly in the last over of the match and did not allow Mumbai to score the 11 runs needed to win. After the match he said “Sadly my father was in ICU, he was discharged only yesterday, so I was playing this match for him. He might be watching the match on TV, he was in ICU for last ten days. He’ll be very happy.”
Speaking during the post match presentation, Mohsin also spoke about his difficult last 12 months. In his first IPL season in 2022, Mohsin took 14 wickets in nine matches with an economy of 5.97, but he suffered a serious shoulder injury and could not play any cricket for a whole year.
He was not fit for the early part of IPL 2023 and was bowling for only the second time this season in the match against Mumbai. In his first match against Gujarat Titans, he took 1/42 in three overs.
Mohsin said, “I am playing after one year. I got injured in the middle, it was a tough time for me. Today I felt that the way I bowled last year, I bowled the same way, so I am very happy.”
Mohsin conceded 21 runs in his first two overs and also took the wicket of Nehal Wadhera. He was given the responsibility of the last over and in front of him were Tim David and Cameron Green. Using a mix of slower balls and yorkers, Mohsin conceded only five runs and got his team two vital points as well as taking Lucknow to No. 3 on the points table.
Mohsin said, “I was just trying to do what I do in net practice. That is my strength. I just followed it. Krunal (Pandya) bhai also came and told me what to do. I told him Said, ‘Brother, I will do what I have been doing till now.’ I was just trying to keep myself calm and not looking at the scorecard. I just thought that I have to bowl only six balls. I was not even looking at the runs whether they needed 10 runs or 11 runs. I was just thinking that I have to bowl six good balls. Since the ball was stopping on the wicket, I thought I would bowl slower balls. The batsmen were beaten on the first two balls. I was also trying for yorkers and the ball There was a bit of reverse swing as well.”
Mohsin said that he is thankful to the LSG team management for selecting him for the match against Mumbai, despite the poor performance in Ahmedabad. He said, “I am also very grateful for the faith shown in me by the team. My last match was not good, but they played me in this match. Especially Gautam (Gambhir) sir, Vijay (Dahiya) sir and the rest. To the support staff who showed faith in me and fed me.”
Krunal Pandya, who took over the captaincy of Lucknow after KL Rahul was injured, said Mohsin was mentally strong.
“Mohsin is someone who has a really big heart and if you have a big heart in this game, you go a long way,” Krunal said. Krunal said, “Really happy for him. He hasn’t played any cricket in the last one year and he went through a very serious surgery. And then to come here and play the IPL straight away in such a high pressure situation, it shows that he can How mentally strong.”
Lucknow and Chennai Super Kings both have 15 points but Lucknow is behind Chennai in net run rate and has come third in the points table. If Lucknow win their last match against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens on May 20, they will make it to the playoffs.
–IANS
