If you managed to get the wickets of Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers in the same innings, you must be doing something right. Sandeep Sharma, the Kings XI Punjab seamer, relied on his trusted bowling attribute – swing – to dismiss Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) three most destructive players within the Powerplay. RCB were set a modest target of 139 but Sandeep’s spell ensured that they never even looked like getting close. Moreover, his performance of 3 for 22 off four overs gave Kings XI a shot at qualifying for the playoffs.
It was Sandeep’s second consecutive match-winning performance, following his 4 for 20 against Delhi Daredevils. With the national selectors expected to pick the one-day squad for the Champions Trophy in a few days time, Sandeep couldn’t have timed it better. With the conditions in England expected to assist swing bowlers, the selectors now have a strong case to consider.
A bowler more in the Praveen Kumar-mould, Sandeep is an asset not for his pace, but ability to move the ball both ways. Even if he isn’t taking wickets, he doesn’t concede too many runs. Any Twenty20 captain would love to have a bowler like him in the side.
Hailing from Patiala, Sandeep started off as a batsman, but his school coach adviced him to concentrate on bowling, and there was no looking back. Sandeep was selected for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, where he bowled very economical spells. Since age was on his side, he took part in the next U-19 World Cup as well, two years later. He made a bigger impact in Australia, taking 12 wickets in the tournament and playing a very vital, yet understated, role with the bat in the quarter-final against Pakistan. As the No. 11, Sandeep held his nerve after India were nine down chasing 135.
The forthcoming Ranji Trophy season with Punjab was a very rewarding one for Sandeep, when he took 41 wickets. Sandeep has been one of Punjab’s most consistent performers – in 2013-14 he took 36 wickets, and the season after that he claimed 28 victims.
Sandeep was bought by Kings XI in 2013, but he played only four games. He was their trump card with the ball in 2014, taking 18 wickets in 11 games. He took three wickets in an innings four times that season and in three of those instances he conceded 25 or less in four overs. He got rid of Gayle and Kohli in both games against RCB. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, his 3 for 21 helped Kings XI defend 132 in Abu Dhabi. In 2015, he made his India debut in the Twenty20 series in Zimbabwe.
Sandeep was never express pace, but since his U-19 days he has worked on increasing his pace. In one of his earlier interviews, he spoke of how he was predominantly an outswing bowler. But he soon developed an inswinger to the right-handers, which is now his stock ball.
On Friday, an out-of-form Gayle was looking to dominate Sandeep early. He ended up getting a leading edge to backward point. Kohli charged down the track to Sandeep but he was beaten by the swing and lost his leg stump. It was the fifth time Sandeep had dismissed Kohli in the IPL. De Villiers too perished trying to come down the pitch, though on this occasion it was the away swing that got him, resulting in an outside edge.
Speaking after the game, Sandeep said that team mentor Virender Sehwag told him to keep pitching the ball fuller so his swing can come into play. It induced the batsmen into making mistakes. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar currently the leading wicket-taker with 21 wickets, it’s swing bowlers like him and Sandeep who are causing havoc.
