'The plan was to mix it up' - Saurabh Netravalkar on working out Kohli, Rohit dismissals in T20 World Cup 2024 [Exclusive]

The USA made an impressive T20 World Cup debut in June as they fought toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in world cricket and also got the better of former champions Pakistan. One of the most notable performers for the USA at the marquee event was former India Under-19 World Cup star Saurabh Netravalkar.

On June 12, the USA locked horns with eventual champions India in a Group A fixture at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York. On a sluggish track, the debutants huffed and puffed their way to 110/8 in 20 overs after being invited to bat first. In reply, the Men in Blue got off to a disappointing start as Netravalkar accounted for the wickets of captain Rohit Sharma and his fellow opener Virat Kohli with the new ball.

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Kohli was dismissed off the second ball of the innings as he chased a delivery wide outside off-stump and it took the outside-edge and went through to wicketkeeper Andries Gous. Meanwhile, Rohit departed in the third over as he closed the face of his bat a bit early and the ball took the leading edge before settling into the hands of Harmeet Singh, who had to run back from mid-off.

In an exclusive interview with CricTracker, Netravalkar talked about his bowling plans against two of the best batters in modern-day cricket.

"New York pitch was helpful for fast bowlers. We fielded second and Arshdeep, who is also a left-arm seamer picked up four wickets in the first innings. I got a good chance to see what he was doing and my thinking was similar. To hit those lengths and maximise the chance, like you say. Outcome is not in your control. Virat Kohli can also hit a good ball for a six. I'm grateful that I got the edge and got the wicket," Netravalkar said.

When asked about Rohit's dismissal, the left-arm seamer reckoned that the experienced batter was expecting an in-swinger and the out-swinger got him instead.

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"I have two balls, in-swing and out-swing. How to mix it up so that he doesn't expect the delivery. That was the plan. I think he was expecting in-swinger and I got a bit of an out-swinger there and he got an edge, a leading edge. But the pitch was such that the ball stopped on him and came to him slower than he expected. It was a two-paced wicket. I think on any other day, that could have gone for six also, so nothing like that. It was just a good day for me, I think," Netravalkar explained.