Lucknow Super Giants' (LSG) head coach Justin Langer praised the young spinner Manimaran Siddharth for claiming the prized wicket of star Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batsman Virat Kohli during the Indian Premier League (IPL) match between the two teams at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Tuesday.
Siddharth secured Kohli's dismissal to mark his maiden IPL wicket, placing him in the esteemed company of bowlers who have claimed the legendary right-hander as their first-ever IPL victim.
Kohli appeared to be in fine form, having scored 22 runs off 15 balls, including two boundaries and an impressive straight six. However, Siddharth delivered a slower delivery that spun away from Kohli, causing him to mistime his shot and be caught by Devdutt Padikkal, thereby giving LSG their first breakthrough and triggering a batting collapse.
In a video shared by LSG on X, Langer reminisced about a discussion with the young bowler regarding the dismissal of Virat.
"Never spoke to him before. I saw him bowl an arm ball and I said, 'Hey Sid, you reckon you get Virat out for us'. He goes, 'Yes sir'. And look at what he does, he gets him out," said Langer as the dressing room echoed with applause for Siddarth.
Siddharth has entered the prestigious group of bowlers who have claimed the iconic Kohli as their maiden IPL wicket.
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A total of 10 bowlers, including Ashok Dinda, Ashish Nehra, Albie Morkel, Chetanya Nanda, Doug Bracewell, Jasprit Bumrah, Mitchell McClenaghan, Harpreet Brar, Dewald Brevis, and now Siddharth, have all managed to dismiss Virat for their inaugural IPL wicket.
LSG (181 for 5) defeated RCB (153 all out) by 28 runs in Bengaluru on Tuesday.
(With ANI inputs)
