IPL 2021: The plan was to not bowl the spinners against Andre Russell – Lalit Yadav

Delhi Capitals bowling all-rounder Lalit Yadav has revealed that the plan was to not spinners against Andre Russell in the team’s seventh match of the season against Kolkata Knight Riders at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on Thursday.

Yadav bowled a fine spell of 2-13 in his three overs and played a key role in restricting KKR to a below-par score of 155 runs.

Yadav removed Kolkata Knight Riders skipper Eoin Morgan and pinch-hitter Sunil Narine in the same over to put DC in the driver’s seat. Morgan went for the big shot against the off-spinner and holed out to long-off, where Steve Smith took a good catch. Subsequently, the off-spinner found the gap between Narine’s bat and pad to dismiss him.

Meanwhile, Andre Russell batted at number six and DC were able to keep him in check. Russell scored an unbeaten knock of 42 runs from 27 balls and couldn’t finish the innings on a high.

“Yes, we planned not to bowl the spinners against Andre Russell. Fast bowlers – Kagiso Rabada, Avesh Khan, and Ishant Sharma discussed the ideas of bowling yorkers, bouncers, and the slower ones into the wicket to Andre Russell,” Lalit Yadav said.

On the other hand, Lalit added that contributing to the team’s success gives him confidence. Yadav is a brilliant fielder, can roll his arm over and has shown the skills to be a big hitter with the bat.

“Confidence increases when you are able to contribute to the side’s cause. Cricket is all about how we think and how positive one can remain,” he said in the post-match virtual press conference.

Yadav plays domestic cricket for Delhi and believes the bonding has helped him as he knows Ishant Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Shikhar Dhawan.

“I have played domestic cricket for Delhi, there are some Delhi players in this franchise like Rishabh Pant, Ishant Sharma, and Shikhar Dhawan. I have a good bonding with them, we have played together in domestic cricket so that is working well for me in this franchise,” he pointed.