LSG hero Mohsin Khan: ‘My father was in the ICU, I was playing for him’

Lucknow Super Giants seamer Mohsin Khan dedicated his match-winning show against Mumbai Indians on Tuesday to his father. He later said his father was in the hospital until a day before the crucial game at the BRSABV Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.

“Sadly, my father was in the hospital, in the ICU, he just got discharged yesterday so I was playing the match for him,” Mohsin said. “He was probably watching the game on TV. So I was playing for him. He was in the ICU for the last ten days. He must be very happy.”

Mohsin came on to bowl the final over of Match 63 between Lucknow Super Giants and Mumbai Indians with win or defeat deciding the playoff chances for either team. MI needed 11 runs from 6 balls and Mohsin’s consistent bowling and smart line and length kept Mumbai at an arm’s length.

Mohsin also reflected on his last 12 months. After taking 14 wickets in nine matches in his maiden IPL season last year, Mohsin suffered a shoulder injury which kept him out of competitive cricket for an entire year.

This season, he wasn’t fit for the first half of the IPL. Against Mumbai on Tuesday night, it was just his second bowling spell in IPL 2023. He had picked a solitary wicket against Gujarat Titans while giviing away 42 runs.

“I am playing after a year. I got injured in the middle, it was a tough time for me,” Mohsin said. “The way I bowled last year, today I felt I bowled like that so I am pretty happy.”

Even before the final over, Mohsin had made a mark. He had conceded all of 21 runs and picked a crucial wicket of Nehal Wadhera. But it was his combination of slower balls and yorkers that earned him plaudits. The UP bowler gave away only five runs to earn LSG the win which takes them to third on the IPL points table.

“I was just trying to do what I do in practice. That’s my strength. I just followed that,” Mohsin said. “Krunal [Pandya] bhai also came and asked me what I was going to do. I told him, ‘bhaiya, I will do what I have been doing so far.’

“I was just trying to keep myself calm and not look at the scorecard. I just thought that I have to simply bowl six balls. I wasn’t looking at the runs, whether they need 10 runs or 11 runs. I was just thinking that I have to bowl six good balls.

“Because the wicket was gripping I thought I will bowl slower balls. I beat the batter with the first two balls. I was just trying to change that up with yorkers. It was also reversing a little.”

Mohsin thanked the LSG team management for backing him despite conceding plenty of runs against GT in Ahmedabad.

“I am also very grateful for the faith shown in me by the team. My last game wasn’t good but they played me in this one,” he said. “Especially Gautam [Gambhir] sir, Vijay [Dahiya] sir and the rest of the support staff, they showed trust in me and played me.”

With the win, LSG went level with Chennai Super Kings on 15 points, behind on net run rate (NRR). A win over Kolkata Knight Riders in their final league game will ensure a place in the playoffs.

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