Veteran pacer has been inconsistent for Pune team, but whenever he has done well, his team has won
Ravichandran Ashwin was positioned at short fine-leg when Ashok Dinda was about to bowl his second delivery of his final over in the innings' 19th to Delhi Daredevils' JP Duminy here on Tuesday night. Irfan Pathan was stationed at third man. Just before Dinda was to start from the top of his run-up, and as Mahendra Singh Dhoni was to take his position behind the stumps, the skipper swapped the places of Ashwin and Pathan.
Only five overs earlier, Pathan misfielded at short fine-leg off Duminy, letting the ball pass through for a four. Ashwin was the bowler to suffer then. With his confidence low, this change in field brought smiles on Pathan's and Dhoni's faces as Duminy paddled a yorker-length from outside off-stump straight to Pathan, who dived low to his right to complete the catch. The earlier misfield of Pathan was forgotten.
Dinda's trademark Cristiano Ronaldo-style of celebration was missing on Tuesday each time he took a wicket. It was just swinging of his arms and pumping of the fist with a war cry. Perhaps, it has got to do with the fact that RPS have to complete the league engagements with nothing at stake.
Dinda has been one of the few bowling successes for Rising Pune Supergiants.
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He has been inconsistent, though. In the eight matches that he has played for RPS, he picked up 10 wickets (including two three-wicket hauls) at 21.50 and an economy rate of nearly 7.81, second highest among wicket-takers for RPS behind leg-spinner Adam Zampa (11).
The 32-year-old right-arm medium-pacer from Kolkata ought to have used his vast experience – he has played 74 IPL games for five teams – to have taken the mantle of the otherwise struggling bowling unit of RPS.
Whenever he has dented the opposition with early breakthroughs, RPS have won. His first man-of-the-match performance (3/23) came in his first appearance for RPS, coincidentally in a rain-affected game in Hyderabad that RPS won on Duckworth-Lewis method while batting second. Same was the case with Dinda and RPS here on Tuesday night when his 3/20 in four overs paved the way for RPS' 19-run victory on D/L method.
Dinda did not see anything wrong with his, or his team's, bowling this season. He said after the rain-affected game here: "I'm bowling well in each and every match with the exception of one match, where I bowled differently.
Captain Dhoni always says which field and which areas to bowl to. He always supports me and everybody supports me – the coach, the bowling coach – each and every one. We are planning, chatting together and that's given us (limited) success."
Asked why the RPS bowling unit has not clicked this season, Dinda said: "There is no specific reason. It's a T20 game and even if you bowl well, sometimes you get hit for a six. Sometimes when you bowl badly you get a wicket. T20 is a funny game, it can change each and every ball of the game. But we are working hard, always giving our 100 per cent."
Dinda said he enjoys bowling on Vizag track. Keeping it wicket to wicket line has been the key. In the previous game last week against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he finished with 0/26 in his four overs. But it was a Duleep Trophy game for East Zone against South in October 2012 that gives him happy memories. He took 7/26 in the second innings in a drawn game.
"It's a beautiful wicket here and I love it. Whenever I've bowled here, I've always bowled fantastic," Dinda said, dispelling beliefs that this has been a slow pitch that assists only the spinners. In fact, in the five matches that have been played on three different pitches at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium here over the last 10 days, the medium-pacers have taken 39 wickets while the spinners, only 17.
With just one game left for RPS this season, Dinda is not looking too far ahead but to give "200 per cent and try to win" against Kings XI Punjab here on Saturday.
Ashok Dinda in IPL 2016
3/23 vs SRH, Hyderabad (MoM award)
2/40 vs GL, Pune
1/33 vs MI, Pune
1/34 vs DD, Delhi
0/26 vs RCB, Bengaluru
0/26 vs SRH, Vizag
0/13 vs KKR, Kolkata
3/20 vs DD, Vizag (MoM award)
DINDA IN IPL
Matches: 74
Wickets: 67
Best: 4/18
Average: 28.92
Economy rate: 8.08
IPL TEAMS REPRESENTED:
KKR in 2008, 09, 10
DD in 2011
PW in 2012, 13
RCB in 2014, 15
RPS in 2016
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