Young spinner Digvesh Singh Rathi continued to impress in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) with a composed and mature performance that helped the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) clinch a 12-run victory over the Mumbai Indians (MI) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium.
Rathi delivered an excellent spell in a high-scoring game, finishing with figures of 1/21 in four overs, and was named Player of the Match for his impactful bowling.
After the match, Rathi shared his excitement and the source of his inspiration.
“I’m really enjoying it. I like to get batters out. I watched Sunil Narine bowl and from that time I took to bowling,” said Rathi.
“I want to make my mindset more attacking, want to be like Narine, on how he stays calm even during pressure situations,” he added.
His key moment came when he dismissed the dangerous Naman Dhir, who was batting explosively with 46 off 24 balls.
“Before that over, I spoke to you (Pant), we wanted a mid-wicket but we did not have one, he looked to play through there and that move really worked for us,” Rathi revealed.
This win marked LSG’s second of the tournament, while MI suffered their third loss in four matches. With youngsters like Rathi stepping up, LSG will be confident of building strong momentum going forward.
Match Summary:
Batting first, LSG posted a strong 203/8.
- Mitchell Marsh led the charge with a quick 60 off 31 balls, including nine fours and two sixes.
- Aiden Markram anchored the middle overs with a steady 53 off 38, supported by Ayush Badoni (30 off 19) and David Miller (27).
- Hardik Pandya starred with the ball for MI, picking up 5/36 in his four overs. Other wicket-takers included Vignesh Puthur, Ashwani Kumar, and Trent Boult.
In response, MI could only manage 191/5.
- Suryakumar Yadav top-scored with a fluent 67 off 43 balls, while Naman Dhir impressed with 46 off 24.
- Contributions from Hardik Pandya (28) and Tilak Varma (25) kept MI in the hunt, but they fell short.
Tilak was retired out in the 19th over with 24 runs needed from 7 balls. Avesh Khan bowled the final over, defending 22 runs, and despite conceding a six on the first ball, gave away only nine runs.
LSG’s bowlers shared the spoils:
- Shardul Thakur: 1/40
- Akash Deep: 1/46
- Avesh Khan: 1/40
- Digvesh Rathi: 1/21
With Rathi’s calm composure and attacking mindset drawing comparisons to Sunil Narine, LSG may have found a promising young match-winner in their ranks.