IPL 2017: Wriddhiman Saha Caught Unawares By KXIP 'Surprise' Decision
The Kings XI Punjab wicketkeeper scored a match-winning 93 not out as opener against Mumbai Indians in an IPL 2017 encounter at Wankhede.
Highlights
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Saha opened the batting for Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai
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Saha said he was not aware of decision till shortly before the match
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Saha smashed a blistering 93 as opener for Punjab
One of the plans used by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) to change things in their batting as they successfully kept their bid for the Indian Premier League (IPL) Season 10 Play-offs alive was sending wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha up to open the batting. The decision was kept a close secret till right before the match and even the batsman himself did not know shortly before the match began that he would be opening. But as it turned out, his 93 not out was largely instrumental in KXIP beating power-packed Mumbai Indians (MI) and stay in the race for the knockout stage.
Saha told iplt20.com that he was not aware till shortly before the match that he would be opening.
"When I came in for the pre-match warm-up, I wasn't aware of the fact that I would be opening the innings today. After I went in to the dressing room, Virender Sehwag sent across a message to me saying I will be opening the innings today and that is when I got to know," Saha said.
"I wasn't expecting it since I have been batting in the middle-order this season, but I went out there, played a few shots, rotated the strike and fortunately got the runs on the board."
Saha was involved in a four big stands - 63 runs for the opening wicket with Martin Guptill, 63 with skipper Glenn Maxwell and then 52 runs with Shaun Marsh and then an unbeaten 47-run stand with Axar Patel for the fourth wicket.
This was Saha's first half-century in IPL 10. Evidently the KXIP 'secret weapon' worked well for them.