IPL: Ashwin recalls final over against KKR in Qualifier 2; 'Tripathi never hit me in past'

Ravichandran Ashwin, off-spinner for Delhi Capitals, has finally stated what he was thinking during the final over of Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders. On the official YouTube account, Ashwin admitted he didn't think too much for the first four balls, but before throwing the fifth ball of the over, he assumed the Capitals had won. After thinking about the victory for a few seconds, Ashwin considered what kind of delivery to bowl at Rahul Tripathi, taking into account the dew on the pitch. Tripathi smashed the ball for a six after the Indian bowler decided to keep the ball short.

Ashwin opens up about Qualifier 2 against KKR

Tripathi had never hit Ashwin for a boundary before, but it came at the wrong time and knocked Delhi out of the trophy race, according to Ashwin. The Tamil Nadu-born cricketer said he predicted beforehand that Tripathi would jump down the track and which is why he bowled it slightly short. However, Ashwin's plan couldn't stop Tripathi from hitting the winning runs and taking his team into the finals for the third time in IPL history. 

"The first four balls, I didn’t think much and it worked. And, before the fifth ball, I thought ‘Aaha, we have won!’. Then I thought about short boundaries, the dew, and also predicted that he would jump down the track, which is why I bowled it slightly short. Tripathi has never hit me for a four in the past. Unfortunately for us, it came at the wrong time," Ashwin said on YouTube. 

KKR vs DC: Qualifier 2

In the KKR vs DC IPL 2021 Qualifier 2, Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and chose to field first and it looked to be the right decision given that the pitch favoured bowling heavily. Kolkata's mystery spinners performed their spell well as they restricted Delhi to 135/5 and following that, as the dew set in, Venkatesh Iyer and Shubhman Gill looked like they had guided KKR to victory.

But there was a twist in the tale as Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada forced the match to the death overs where Ravichandran Ashwin did his job well to force KKR to a point where they required six runs from two balls to secure their berth in the finals. That is when Tripathi came to the rescue and hit a magnificent six to end the match on a happy note for KKR.

Things got interesting when Kolkata who was in a position of strength at 123/1 were reduced to 130/7 and at one point, it seemed like a second straight final appearance was a forgone conclusion for the Delhi Capitals. Nonetheless, Rahul Tripathi did the unthinkable as KKR lived to fight another day.

(Image: iplt20.com/BCCI)