I back my strength-swing bowling: Sandeep post Kings XI triumph

Kings XI Punjab pacer Sandeep Sharma, who opened the bowling for his side during their eight-wicket win against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) clash, has revealed he just focuses on backing his strength which is swing bowling and doesn't worry much about leaking runs in the death overs.

The 23-year-old said that he had a discussion with former Indian opener and head of cricket operations of Kings XI Virender Sehwag, who asked him to stick to his plans if he wants to achieve success.

"I am backing my strength which is to swing the ball. I have discussed and worked with Virender Sehwag regarding field placements. He has helped me and talked to me about what the placements should be with the new ball, since only two fielders are allowed outside the circle, and how to use them effectively. I am doing that, and so far it has been working well," Sandeep told iplt20.com.

"I had spoken about my plans in the team meeting as well as with Viru paaji. The thing is most batsmen struggle against swing; so he told me to back my strength which is swinging the ball," he added.

Sandeep, who opened the bowling with Axar Patel at the Holkar Stadium on Monday, dismissed RCB's Vishnu Vinod for 7. After Axar dismissed Shane Watson in first over, AB de Villiers was the only batsman to strike a boundary in Sandeep's opening spell in which the medium-pacer bowled 14 dot balls.

Sandeep revealed how they had planned for Watson's wicket, while insisting that getting some backing from the team management helped him to perform well, ESPNcricinfo reported.

"We had our plans. Watson doesn't play too well against left-arm spinners; so [Glenn] Maxwell thought that we could give the first over to Axar and it was good that he got us the wicket," he said.

Talking about de Villiers's innings, Sandeep said that although he tried hard to execute his plans well and back his strength, the South African batsman played really well.

"AB de Villiers is one of the best batsmen in the world and he even hit some of my good balls. It's okay. I am executing what I am thinking about. On a different day, against a different batsman, things might be different. We had made our plans for him. We tried to execute our plans, but he scored against us. He is one of my favourite batsmen, so I am happy for him also," the Indian pacer said.

Sandeep has bagged three wickets in two IPL matches he played so far, conceding 59 runs in his eight overs at an economy rate of 7.37, the best among the Kings XI pacers.