NEW DELHI: Mohit Sharma stood in serene silence, his hands folded in profound gratitude, eyes shut as he transported himself back in time with a breathtaking exhibition of death bowling.
His remarkable performance, tallying figures of 3/25, proved instrumental in Gujarat Titans‘ efforts to restrict Sunrisers Hyderabad to 162/8 in Ahmedabad on Sunday.This impressive display came mere days after the Titans had etched their name in the IPL record books with a monumental total of 277/3.Riding on Mohit’s heroics, the Titans cruised to a resounding seven-wicket victory.
At the age of 35 years and 195 days, the seasoned Indian seamer showcased that age is no barrier to success, a sentiment he graciously acknowledged while accepting the player-of-the-match award.
“Thank you sir for reminding me I’m ageing,” Mohit, the 2014 Purple Cap winner and 2015 World Cup semifinalist, said in a lighter vein during the post-match awards ceremony when Ravi Shastri welcomed him saying he’s “getting better with age”.
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Mohit’s masterful spell saw him concede just one boundary – a solitary six struck by Abdul Samad in the 18th over. His control was evident as he yielded a mere two runs in the final over, where he also accounted for the consecutive dismissals of Shahbaz Ahmed and Washington Sundar.
Displaying tactical acumen, Mohit adeptly varied his pace and skillfully altered his line and length, keeping the opposition batsmen perpetually uncertain. His shrewd bowling performance left an impression, with Pat Cummins later conceding that his team, SRH, fell short by ’10-15 runs’ against Titans.
“I practice what I do generally. What’s important is knowing when to use them and being ahead of the batter,” said Mohit, who has played 26 ODIs and 8 T20Is, with the last of them coming in the 50-over format in October 2015.
“Everyone has them on slow wickets but knowing how to use it against whom is key.”
On the importance of tweaking the field when bowling slow, he said: “If you and the batter knows what you’ll deliver, then you need to play with one fielder’s position to deceive the batter.”
“If he’s ready for a slower bouncer but I go slow and wide, he won’t be ready.”
On bowling slow balls in night games, he said: “We practice with a wet ball to contend with dew. But it’s uncontrollable, mindset matters more there.”
“As long as I do well I enjoy it. When you don’t it hurts a bit but you have to go back and review things after the game.
“But it’s better if the mistakes are due to failing in execution rather than not following the plan. Spinners were excellent after SRH started well. It helped us chase a smaller target,” he thanked the combined effort of Rashid Khan (1/33) and Noor Ahmad (1/32).
From the pinnacle of his career highs during 2014-15, Mohit experienced a significant downturn and eventually faded into obscurity. His journey was marred by injury setbacks, and his fortunes took a further blow when he went unsold in the IPL auction of 2022.
Prior to his triumphant return for Titans in 2023, Mohit’s presence in the cricketing arena was limited. He played just one game each in 2019 and 2022, and for much of that time, he found himself relegated to the role of a net bowler, a far cry from his earlier prominence on the field.
“He’s such an experienced player, especially on wickets like these. He comes in day in and day out, practices his skills and he’s so skilled,” GT skipper Shubman Gill was all-praise for Mohit.
“It’s not easy in this heat to bowl four overs back-to-back, sometimes three overs back-to-back. But he comes in, bowls those yorkers, slower ones and mixes it so well.
“The credit has to go to him for practising those skills and to be able to have the confidence to execute them in the match,” he said.
(With PTI inputs)