“I’m quite surprised the umpires changed the ball for dew on their own. It’s never happened before and I’m quite surprised,” Ashwin stated on the post-match press convention. “Some of the decisions in this year’s IPL on the field have left me a little flummoxed, to be honest. It left me flummoxed in a good or bad way because what you need is a little bit of balance. We’re going as a bowling team and we’re not asking for the ball to be changed. But the ball was changed on the umpire’s accord. What reason – I did ask the umpire but he said we can change it.
“So I am hoping each time there may be dew they can exchange it – each unmarried time going ahead in this IPL. You can do no matter you need however you wish to have to be usual.”
Both the laws of cricket and the IPL’s playing conditions allow for the umpires to change the ball when they see fit, with Law 4.5 and playing condition 4.4 saying: “If, all the way through play, the ball can’t be discovered or recovered or the umpires agree that it has develop into undeserving for play thru customary use, the umpires shall change it with a ball which has had put on related with that which the former ball had won sooner than the will for its substitute. When the ball is changed, the umpire shall tell the batters and the fielding captain.”
‘Phenomenal from Sandeep Sharma’ – R Ashwin all praise for his team-mate
Super Kings had begun the over needing 21 and Sandeep began with two wides, before a pin-point dot-ball yorker to Dhoni. He got the next two wrong, and Dhoni duly dispatched the resulting full tosses for six, six. Those hits left Super Kings needing seven off three balls, but Sandeep finished off with a wide length ball and then two yorkers that Dhoni and Jadeja could only manage singles off.
“I in reality revel in his dedication and perspective. He’s any person who’ll combat, does not get flustered,” Ashwin said. “Even after we walked as much as him at 3 balls seven [required], he was once k. He was once at ease. He had his personal plan. He sought after to ship what he may ship at perfect.
“I feel going full to MS Dhoni at that stage is not the best option but any bowler would think that – you have 20 runs, you want to shut down two-three balls. Going forward it’s a lesson learnt. But I think it was phenomenal from Sandeep, I really enjoyed the composure he showed.”