New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach Varun Aaron heaped praise on Eshan Malinga for his brilliant bowling performance against five-time Chennai Super Kings (CSK), calling him an underrated T20 bowler with all-round ability.

He is very underrated: SRH bowling coach calls Eshan Malinga ‘a pure T20 bowler with all-round ability’

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach Varun Aaron heaped praise on Eshan Malinga for his brilliant bowling performance against five-time Chennai Super Kings (CSK), calling him an underrated T20 bowler with all-round ability.

SRH held their nerve in a tight finish against CSK by 10 runs in Hyderabad, successfully defending 194 on the back of a collective bowling effort. Malinga led the bowling effort with 3-29 and was named Player of the Match for his key strikes.

The Sri Lankan bounced skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad out, denting CSK chase. When Sarfaraz Khan and Matt Short attempted to rebuild with a 46-run stand, his ability to access the yorker length produced two more wickets, removing Short (34 off 30) and Sarfaraz (25 off 19).

“Eshan Malinga is a very underrated bowler. Since the start of the campaign, he has bowled very well. He bowled well last season too. Especially when the ball reverses, he becomes even more effective towards the death overs.

“He can bowl at around 145 km/h, has a sharp bouncer, and can nail the perfect yorker. He is a pure T20 bowler with all-round ability. I believe he can take the new ball as well, not just for us going forward, but even for Sri Lanka,” Aaron said on JioStar.

Besides Malinga, Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled his full four-over quota in IPL for the first time, delivering figures of 2-31, while Sakib Hussain and Shivang Kumar chipped in with one wicket each.

Reflecting on SRH’s bowling plan, Aaron said, “When the wickets are flat, the focus is on execution, and the bowlers’ plans are fully trusted within the group. For example, Sakib was bowling a very good slower ball in the last game, but he said it wasn’t coming out of his hand as well in this game, though he was confident in bowling the yorker.

“So, we take the bowlers’ feedback, believe in their plans, and if we feel something, then we give our input. They are two very young bowlers. Dan and I just have one message, and that’s not to take undue pressure, express yourself with conviction. On wickets like these, if you don’t bowl with conviction, you’ll get hit even on your good balls.”

–IANS

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