IPL 2020: Ravi Ashwin confident of recovering for Delhi Capitals’ second game after shoulder injury

On Sunday, September 20, Indian off-spinner Ravi Ashwin had a dream day with the ball in hand for the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Against the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), his former team, he picked up the crucial wickets of Karun Nair and Nicholas Pooran, who came into the IPL on the back of a century for the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2020 CPL.

Ashwin gave away only a couple of runs in his first over and made DC the first favourites to win the match. However, he could only bowl a solitary over after he injured his shoulder. Even as he tried to stop the ball off his own bowling, he landed badly on his shoulder.

Thereafter, Patrick Farhart, the team’s physio, carried him off the ground. Ajinkya Rahane, who came in from the Rajasthan Royals (RR), went to the field as Ashwin’s substitute.

Ravi Ashwin confident of making a comeback

However, despite the injury, Ashwin reckons that he can make the cut for the Capitals’ second match against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Friday, September 25 in Dubai.

But DC skipper Shreyas Iyer stated that Ashwin’s return would depend on the physio’s call. “Ashwin says he’ll be ready for the next game, but in the end the physio is going to decide,” Iyer was quoted as saying at the post-match presentation ceremony.

Ashwin’s injury didn’t cost DC, at least in their opening game. In the spin-department, Axar Patel turned out to be frugal as he didn’t concede a single boundary and also picked up the important wicket of Sarfaraz Khan. The Capitals didn’t have their two leg-spinners Amit Mishra and Sandeep Lamichhane at their services. Barring Anrich Nortje, the other bowlers got at least a wicket.

As far as the game is concerned, it went right down to the Super Over where Kagiso Rabada sealed the fate of the match. Mayank Agarwal almost got the Punjab-based franchise over the finishing line, scoring 89 off 60 balls with the help of seven fours and four sixes. But his efforts went in vain as KXIP couldn’t score one run in the last three balls of their mandatory 20 overs.