The Sunrisers Hyderabad are just one step away from their second trophy as they are set to meet the Kolkata Knight Riders in the final of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League which is set to take place at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Playing a crucial role for the Sunrisers is none other than their opening batter and left-arm orthodox bowler Abhishek Sharma. The 23-year-old from Punjab has had his breakout season with the bat but it was his bowling that proved to be the difference in the Qualifier 2 clash against Rajasthan Royals in Chennai.
He managed to pick up two wickets for just 24 runs in his quota of four overs where he dismissed the likes of Sanju Samson and Shimron Hetmyer to put the Hyderabad side in front and eventually take the win by 36 runs.
Speaking in a video uploaded on IPL’s official website, the youngster opened up about his emotions about playing his first final.
“My first emotion is that I have been playing the IPL for quite a few years now and obviously as a youngster my dream was to play in the finals and we are playing this year,” said the 23-year-old.
While he is usually expected to deliver with the bat, he was only able to chip in with 12 runs in 5 deliveries in the first innings but his bowling proved to be the difference.
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He said,” I think it is very emotional and inspirational because as a player if you are playing in this league your first dream should be to play the finals for the team, also if you’re contributing to the team it’s just a cherry on top”.
Reflecting on his performance the youngster thinks that his father would be pleased with his bowling performance after all the hard yards he has put in during his training sessions and finally taking the opportunity with both hands.
“I think my dad will be very happy. He was a left-arm spinner and he’s been working really hard on my bowling. But somehow I knew that if I kept working on my bowling then I can do something for the team because I have that in myself. Since junior cricket, I have been bowling a lot and I was waiting for this opportunity,” he shared.
Abhishek added, “It didn’t come easy for me. I had to really show the captain and the coaches during practice since they didn’t see me bowling that much”.
Conversations with Yuvraj Singh
The youngster has been under the tutelage of the legendary Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for quite some time during his early days and the Indian great has tipped Abhishek to become a better bowler than he was during his playing career which is setting the standard high.
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“Whenever we had conversations on my bowling with Yuvi Paaji, he always said that I can be a better bowler than him. So that is something I have always had in my mind. I think he’ll be very happy as well that I could contribute to my bowling,” said Abhishek.
He concluded by asking the many fans in Chennai to come in support of SRH as they are set to take on the high-flying table-toppers KKR for the big prize.
“I think the final message would be that we are really grateful for the support we’ve received through the season. It’s always the dream to play the final as any team. Everybody knows CSK has a lot of fan following in Chennai but I would say to come to support us in the final,” he concluded.
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