After a three-week layoff due to injury, Sandeep Sharma couldn’t have asked for a better comeback as he finished with astonishing figures of 5/18 in a game where over the scoring rate hovered well over the 8.5 rpo mark. In the two games that he had featured in earlier this season, Sandeep was used as a death over specialist by the Royals who wanted to use the fast bowler’s variations and temperament for the slog overs.

Against MI, though, Sandeep got the new ball as well, striking twice upfront before landing three strikes at the back end. With the scores going up higher than ever before in this year’s IPL, bowling has become a thankless job, particularly at the death with batters going bonkers. Sandeep underlined the importance of having a strong character to succeed in such situations.

“In this season, bowlers are going big. Batters are coming down swinging and with an impact player there, we have an extra batter,” said Sandeep at the post-match press conference. “High scoring games are there. So you need to have a big heart when you are bowling at the death. Just try to execute your plans and leave it. If it goes for runs or wickets, so be it.”

“If you are bowling in the death overs, it can go both ways. Sometimes you can go for runs, sometimes if you bowl well and are lucky enough, you can end up getting wickets. So that is what happened tonight.”

Sandeep showed no signs of rust in his comeback game as he was spot on from the get-go. There was a hint of movement available with the new ball and he used his angles as well to nip out Ishan Kishan on the outside edge. A crafty slower ball then seized the big scalp of Suryakumar Yadav who was a tad too early into his drop-kick leg-side loft, thereby skying it straight down the ground to long-on. At the death, Sandeep used his repertoire of slower ones and yorkers to good effect to tie down MI’s batters. It also helped the 30-year-old that the Jaipur surface had something in it for his skillset.

“Last three weeks, I worked really hard towards my fitness. Thanks to all my physios and management who helped me to get back and play. Was working hard in the nets on my variations. I had two practice sessions and the focus was to execute all these variations that I did tonight.”

“Wicket was a bit low and slow when we started, so my plan was to bowl cutters. Leg cutters and off cutters. It came out nicely tonight.”

Rajasthan Royals’s seventh win of the season has put them in pole position for not just a playoff berth but also a potential top-two finish. Dwelling on the stupendous success this season thus far, Sandeep credited the team atmosphere as one of the major reasons behind RR’s performances on the field. The pacer also heaped praise on the captain-coach duo of Sanju Samson and Kumar Sangakkara for maintaining the positive energy within the camp.

“It is a happy environment, obviously positive. The management is really good, they are really allowing everyone to go out and express themselves. I’d also say Sanju, he is giving a lot of freedom to his bowlers and asking them to set their fields, and bowl according to that. So I’d say freedom and the good environment.

“He (Sangakkara) has played enough cricket to understand everyone’s mind. He knows how to motivate. If you have not done well, he knows what to talk. He always comes with the right words whatever is needed. I’m surprised how he does that.”