Mohsin Khan produced a fantastic last over to script Lucknow Super Giants’ (LSG) narrow five-run victory over Mumbai Indians (MI) at Ekana Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (May 16).
The left-arm quick, who recently recovered after a long injury lay-off, was tasked to defend 11 runs in the final over. He delivered in style, nailing yorker after yorker to concede just 5 runs despite bowling against the rampaging Tim David (32* off 19) and Cameron Green (4*).
Mohsin eventually returned with the figures of 1 for 26 in his three overs as LSG defended their total of 177/3 by restricting MI to 172/5.
After the game, Mohsin Khan recalled his tough injury phase, revealing that he avoided a possible amputation of his bowling hand after approaching the doctor just in time.
The pacer underwent surgery to remove blood clots from his bowling shoulder in October 2022. The shoulder injury on his bowling hand kept him on the sidelines for the major chunk of IPL 2023 season.
"It was a very tough time and I had given up hope of playing cricket at one point because I was not able to even lift my hand, forget bowling," Mohsin said at the post-match press conference.
"I was not able to straighten it (my hand), my physio worked alongside me. It was medical related, it was quite scary, as the doctor had said if I was late by another month they would have had to amputate my hand," he added.
Mohsin Khan impressed one and all with his exploits in the IPL 2022 season, but he missed the entire domestic season due to injury. The match against MI was his third appearance in the ongoing IPL.
"Regarding my injury, I would first like to say that no cricketer should suffer this kind of condition. It was quite strange, my artery was blocked, my nerve was blocked.
"But my association's (Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association) Rajeev Shukla sir, LSG's Sanjeev (Goenka) sir, my family helped me a lot. They gave their best, but still I was struggling before and after the surgery."
Talking about his plan in the final over, Mohsin said it was to execute what he did in training.
"Obviously there is pressure when bowling the last over, but I was speaking to the captain that I would be looking to execute what I have been doing during practice. So I followed that and backed myself," he stated.
"I was not thinking that I have to defend 11 runs or 10 runs, my aim was to just bowl six good balls, and thankfully, it worked. I had the confidence in my ability, irrespective of who I was bowling to, and the ball was also reversing a bit."
Mohsin’s aim is to keep himself fit and play as much as possible going forward.
"I will try to keep myself fit and play as much as possible. I was with the team, doing my rehab and training.
"As you are aware now, my father was discharged yesterday (on Monday) only as he had suffered a brain stroke. I had gone to the hospital to see him, told him that he would get well, and see me playing. He must have been very happy watching me play," he concluded.
(With PTI Inputs)
