Bishnoi and his unfinished over leaves fans and experts stumped as the spinner did not complete his four overs.
Bishnoi and his unfinished over became the biggest point of difference in the game that saw CSK emerge victors over LSG.
Defending a middling total over 167 at the Ekana, Bishnoi bowled well, taking 2 wickets for 18 in his 3 overs. But everyone was bewildered when he was not given his final over. Instead, it was his fellow spinners in Digvesh and Markram who finished their 4 overs.
By the 15th over, when CSK required 56 runs from 30 balls, Dhoni had just joined Dube, and Rathi and Markram had completed bowling together. Pant may have been forced to make a decision by Dube’s appearance and his reputation as a six-hitter off spin.
“I didn’t really talk [to Pant] about it, but I went to the wicket a couple of times [to check] and I think he had plans in place he wanted to execute,” Bishnoi said at the press conference after the game. “In such situations, the captain is better placed, and he keeps wicket, too, so he understands things better. According to me, he took the decision he thought was better.
“He was clear in his mind and it’s better in such tense situations that the captain thinks with a clear mind.”
“I know Dube was batting, but Dube couldn’t get hold of him [Bishnoi] before that anyway. And he has that googly,” Ian Bishop said on ESPNcricinfo TimeOut. “I wonder why Rishabh didn’t go for Bishnoi – 2 for 18 from three [overs] just stands out like a beacon in all of that.”
“If you got a wicket there, and you’ve got Jamie Overton to come, I felt it was very defensive to go for the faster-bowler strategy at that point, because you are actually thinking that you didn’t want Dube to get a couple of sixes off Bishnoi,” Abhinav said. “This is something that you see in the IPL, or any form of cricket, where captains tend to sort of… they like a certain type of bowler because they are uncomfortable against it, and sometimes the converse also happens.
“As a left-hander, possibly Rishabh is thinking, ‘I can smash Bishnoi out of the ground, so I don’t want him to face off against Dube. ‘ Just a hypothetical theory I am planting here.”