Ashish Nehra’s inspiring comeback has Hyderabad Sunrisers at the top of IPL

Rising Pune SuperGiants bowler Adam Zampa (R) celebrates with teammate Saurabh Tiwary after the wicket of Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman AB de Villiers during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Rising Pune SuperGiants, at The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on May 7, 2016. Royal Challengers Bangalore are chasing a target of 192 runs set by Rising Pune SuperGiants. (AFP/MANJUNATH KIRAN)

Trent Boult of New Zealand bowls during the fifth one day international cricket match between New Zealand and Sri Lanka at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui on January 5, 2016. He's mostly served as a bench-warmer for Sunrisers Hyderabad. (AFP PHOTO/MICHAEL BRADLEY)

Rising Pune Supergiants bowler Adam Zampa catches a ball during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on May 10, 2016. (AFP/NOAH SEELAM)

Sunrisers Hyderabad bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar unsuccesfully appeals during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on May 10, 2016. (AFP/NOAH SEELAM)

Sunrisers Hyderabad wicket keeper Naman Ojha successfully runs out Rising Pune Supergiants batsman Usman Khawaja during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on May 10, 2016. (AFP/NOAH SEELAM)

Mumbai Indians batsman Kieron Pollard plays a shot, during the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians, at The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on May 11, 2016. Mumbai Indians are chasing a target of 152 runs set by Royal Challengers Bangalore. (AFP/MANJUNATH KIRAN)

Disha Shetty, a writer for Wisden India, provides a review from the last few days of the Indian Premier League.

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Vintage Nehra stands out

Ashish Nehra's international comeback after five years at the age of 36 is inspiring, and he has shown no signs of slowing down while bowling for Sunrisers Hyderabad in this IPL. He missed a few games due to injury, and had taken just two wickets from his first four matches. But, in his next two matches, Nehra picked up six wickets to chart Hyderabad's rise to the top of the table. Against Mumbai Indians in Visakhapatnam, Nehra was Man of the Match for his new-ball burst that fetched him 3 for 15. Then, his fantastic final over against Rising Pune Supergiants where he dismissed Thisara Perera and Adam Zampa helped Hyderabad eke out a thrilling four-run win. Nehra's mentoring of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mustafizur Rahman and Barinder Sran has also made Hyderabad's bowling attack one of the strongest this season. "We got three young guys and I am the fourth guy, trying to support them basically," Nehra told IPLT20.com about his role.

Young prospects make a mark

Like every season, this IPL has unearthed many young talents. With four fifties and a 42 for Royal Challengers Bangalore from different positions at a strike-rate better than that of Virat Kohli, the 24-year-old KL Rahul has, to an extent, shed the notion that he is only a good long-format player. Shivil Kaushik, the Gujarat Lions chinaman bowler with a quirky action who credits Rahul for part of his success, has been equally impressive, while Krunal Pandya, the Mumbai Indians all-rounder, has finally emerged from his younger brother Hardik’s shadows. MS Dhoni backed M Ashwin, the rookie leg-spinner, to the hilt at Rising Pune Supergiants before he was injured, and then there is Adam Zampa, who put up one of the finest exhibitions of leg-spin bowling against Sunrisers Hyderabad. The real test for these youngsters will begin after the IPL when they will have to implement the learning from the season to get better in their craft.

Bench warmers feel the heat

While some youngsters have made the most of their IPL opportunities, a few talented ones have remained on the fringes. Midway into the season, King XI Punjab released Shardul Thakur, who has 89 wickets in the last two Ranji Trophy seasons, Pradeep Sahu and Armaan Jaffer from their original squad of 22 players. Thakur, bought for Rs 20 lakhs, played just one IPL match in 2015, but was not fielded this season, and he let his frustration known through a tweet that was subsequently deleted. His point of view is understandable considering he was rated highly by Sachin Tendulkar after Mumbai won the 2015-16 Ranji Trophy. It is an issue not restricted to Indian players only. Trent Boult, who finds himself on the Sunrisers Hyderabad bench, told Wisden India, “It’s fun to be in India, but I would rather be playing, no doubt.”

Star performance

Adam Zampa’s 6-for-19 against Sunrisers Hyderabad – the second-best figures in the history of IPL after Sohail Tanvir’s 6-for-14 for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008 – included the big scalps of Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson and Moises Henriques. In the final over of the innings, he dismissed Deepak Hooda, Naman Ojha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. He used the googly, his stock delivery and a faster one for the six scalps.

Worst display

Rising Pune Supergiants suffered a four-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad to slump to their eighth defeat. Chasing 138, Pune’s batsmen, barring George Bailey, R Ashwin, promoted to No.4, and Dhoni, came a cropper against a spirited bowling unit as Sunrisers Hyderabad defended the lowest total this season. Adam Zampa had to hit a four off the last ball to take the game to the Super Over, but was superbly caught behind by Naman Ojha off an Ashish Nehra yorker.

Best quote

“You can’t buy experience. Tonight when Yuvi came running in from backward point to run out (Dhoni); an inexperienced player might have just been watching the game and not noticed what was going on. For me that won us the game; that little play.” – Moises Henriques on Yuvraj Singh’s effort to run out MS Dhoni off the penultimate ball of the match after Sunrisers Hyderabad’s thrilling four-run win over Rising Pune Supergiants.

Best catch

Against Rising Pune Supergiants, Naman Ojha, the Sunrisers Hyderabad wicketkeeper, swooped to his left to catch R Ashwin down the leg side, and then dived to his right off the last ball of the match to pouch an edge off Adam Zampa’s bat as his team prevailed by four runs.

Key game

Mumbai Indians, the defending champions, placed fourth with six wins from 11 matches, have struggled for consistency this season. Delhi Daredevils surprised many with their all-round effort in the first half of the tournament, but, having lost two matches in a row, they find themselves in the bottom half the table. The mid-table clash between them in Visakhapatnam on May 15 will have a lot of bearing on the final standings.

Key statistic

When Kieron Pollard dispatched Shane Watson over the fence for the second time during Mumbai Indians’s innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore on May 11; it was the West Indian’s 400th T20 six. He is second on the list behind Chris Gayle, who has hit 638 sixes.

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