Williamson nearing full fitness, confirmed Bayliss after the match
The last over of the Royal Challengers Bangalore’s six-run win against the Sunrisers Hyderabad had Harshal Patel bowl a full toss over the waist, the second time he had done so during the match. An animated David Warner was seen gesturing in the dugout, wondering why Patel wasn’t taken out of the attack given his second offence, but Sunrisers coach Trevor Bayliss later said the team eventually accepted the umpires had made the right call. That was because Patel’s first over-the-waist no-ball was not bowled at the batsman, and he, therefore, hadn’t received any warning for it.
“He was a little animated because we weren’t playing very good cricket and we lost,” Bayliss said of Warner, the team’s captain, at the post-match press conference. “I think the umpires got it right. There was a bit of conjecture over obviously the second high no-ball, but the first one was not directed at the batter’s body, so that wasn’t a warning. So I think the umpires got that one right.”
Patel had bowled his first no-ball on the fourth ball of the 18th over, the ball flying at Jason Holder’s rib height, but the batsman didn’t get bat on ball since it was well down the leg side. On the third ball of the 20th over, Patel lost control of the ball again and a high full toss on the stumps was swiped for four by Rashid Khan.
Patel was issued a warning for the second no-ball, but since it was the first warning, he was allowed to complete the over, and he gave up just one more run as the Royal Challengers sealed the win. Had Patel been taken off, the Royal Challengers still had a variety of options to choose from to complete the over, with all of Kyle Jamieson, Dan Christian, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed available.
“I was sweating and the sweat came on the palms. But obviously, it’s not an excuse,” Patel told Star Sports after the game, explaining the no-balls. “These things shouldn’t happen, they are basic mistakes. They shouldn’t happen in pressure situations, and I’ll try and make sure it doesn’t happen next time.”
Nabi injured, Williamson nearing fitness
The Sunrisers had got Holder into the XI in place of Mohammad Nabi, and Bayliss said that was because the Afghan allrounder had not yet recovered from a bouncer that caught him flush on the neck in the Sunrisers’ first game three days ago, against the Kolkata Knight Riders on April 11.
“Nabi, when he got hit the other day in the first match, he’s feeling the effects of that hit for a couple of days after that,” Bayliss said. “So he was deemed unfit. He had a bit of a headache and a heavy head. That allowed us to play Jason, and from the pace-bowling point of view he gave us a point of difference with a little bit of height and bounce.”
Shaping to pull against Prasidh Krishna in the 16th over, Nabi was surprised by a sharp bouncer that rose above his bat and pinged him on the neck as he took his eyes off the ball while swivelling. Nabi carried on batting after a hold-up in play, even hitting the very next ball for four, but was then out in the same over. He had bowled well earlier, taking 2 for 32 in four overs.
Nabi and Holder might soon have to cede the slot of the fourth overseas player to Kane Williamson though, who Bayliss had earlier said was not “match fit” but whose availability seemed to be drawing closer.
“Kane Williamson is out having a bit of a run now. He trained on one of the days – we had two days’ practice before this game and he practised on one of those days so he’s coming along,” Bayliss said.
Saurabh Somani is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo