Former England captain Michael Vaughan credited Indian pacer T Natarajan for nailing the yorkers right in the final over of the 3rd ODI between India and England to win the series for his side.
T Natarajan played only one game in the ODI series and delivered for Team India when it mattered the most. He was given the responsibility of bowling the final over of the innings with 14 runs to defend. With Sam Curran on 90, he had to pinpoint his yorkers to come out on top and he did it well.
Vaughan called the art of bowling the yorkers a dying one despite the number of T20 leagues in the world increasing. It is also the hardest ball to bowl in the death overs according to the former cricketer.
Michael Vaughan told Cricbuzz, "It’s a dying art. In the era of white-ball cricket being so dominant, so many T20 leagues around the world and these players are playing so much of it, you would think that there are a lot of bowlers who can nail the yorkers. It is still the hardest ball to hit right at the end."
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"If you miss it, of course, you are going to go into the stand. If you’ve got the calmness and the skill level to bowl the yorker under pressure, you go back to Lasith Malinga, Brett Lee towards the backend," he added.
The 46-year-old appreciated the trajectory bowled by Natarajan to Sam Curran in the final over. He did not allow the southpaw to get the required elevation for hitting the big shots and thus manage to restrict the opposition to just 6 runs in the final over.
Vaughan said, "It’s still the hardest ball to get under and that’s what Sam Curran needed. He just needed a little bit of elevation to get under the ball and Natarajan held his nerves. He’s got that trajectory – a little bit lower and skiddier and he angles them into the pads of Sam Curran."
"You could only imagine the heart-rate of Natarajan when he’s throwing that ball and he’s got to deliver that skill with billions watching. Full credit to him for nailing the yorker right," he added.
