Sanju Vishwanadh fits the description of a shy teenager with a slight smile on his face.
“Hero…AB de Villiers,” blurted the Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman when asked to name his idol. Not surprisingly, he stopped there and preferred to use his words economically.
Despite leading Rajasthan Royals to an impressive four-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in his only second appearance in this IPL, Vishwanadh said he didn’t feel nervous as his team had many strong batsmen in the line-up.
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“I was told by the captain and the coach that I would bat up the order. So, I planned my innings and executed it well. It was my day,” said the man-of-the-match.
When asked whether it was too risky to play the unconventional shots as he did on Monday, Vishwanadh said he was used to employing such strokes.
RCB’s Ravi Rampaul, too, praised the teenager for providing the momentum to Royals’ chase. The West Indian pacer also admitted that he had never seen Vishwanadh bat.
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Rampaul blamed lack of consistency by the RCB bowlers for Monday’s defeat while maintaining that 180 was a winning total.
When asked to offer his opinion on RCB’s inability to win away matches, the 28-year-old said the team was involved in too many close games outside Bangalore, and failed to cite any specific reason for the losses. — Sports Reporter