Former Australian cricketer Tom Moody admitted that he was "surprised" to see Trent Boult bowling just two overs for the Rajasthan Royals in their three-wicket defeat against the Gujarat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
The experienced speedster spearheaded RR's attack and bowled an economical spell, which saw him concede just eight runs in two overs. With Boult's two over left, RR decided to hand Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravichandran Ashwin an opportunity to bowl when the game approached its climax. "Well, with Boult there, he bowled two overs for six or eight runs up front, which he tends to be very good with the new ball. He has certainly been used at death for plenty of times before and he has got a huge amount of experience so when it comes to pressure, he is used to absorbing that pressure and taking on the challenges. So I was really surprised that he wasn't spent today," Moody said on the ESPNcricinfo Time Out show. In his four-over spell, Ashwin ended up conceding 40 runs at a staggering economy of 10.00. In his final two overs, GT batters made Ashwin's variations ineffective as they smacked the ball all around the field. His two overs, which saw him concede 30 runs, eased off the pressure on GT while chasing a herculean total of 197. Chahal bagged two wickets in his four-over spell but spewed 43 runs. "He has walked off the park with two overs left, which does not make sense whatsoever and it is nothing against Ashwin; he is a very fine bowler. But both Ashwin and Chahal went for 83 runs in 8 overs combined. Chahal picked up a couple of wickets but that is pretty heavy for them going 10 an over," he added. Coming to the match, RR set a target of 197 for GT to chase. The visitors started off with a 64-run partnership between Sai Sudarshan and skipper Shubman Gill. Wickets kept falling from the other end and Gill scored before perishing in the 16th over. A brief cameo by Shahrukh Khan and later a 38-run partnership between Rahul Tewatia and Rashid infused life into the match again. Rashid finished off the chase with a four on the final ball. (ANI)
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