Anrich Nortje, who bowled the fastest delivery in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the 2020 season, made a grand return to the T20 league for Delhi Capitals with a superb bowling performance against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday night. And the South African pacer was happy for obvious reasons as he had missed the first half of the tournament and also survived a Covid-19 scare.
Nortje claimed two wickets for 12 runs as Delhi Capitals restricted SRH for 134 and then knocked off the runs with 13 balls to spare thanks to opener Shikhar Dhawan (42) and Shreyas Iyer (47 not out).
For his effort, Nortje was named the Man of the Match and the South African was happy with his performance and that of his team. Though teammate Kagiso Rabada, with 3/37 was the most successful Delhi Capitals bowler on Wednesday night, Nortje was more impactful as he got the big wickets of David Warner.
“Obviously missing out on the first half of the tournament… Personally, I wanted to bring the energy. Looking at the first game of the tournament, we decided it was nice to see some grass,” said Nortje after the match.
He said he did not plan anything special for the big wicket of Warner.
“Nice to have some sort of assistance (from the pitch), we didn’t have to do too much; just keep it simple. I don’t focus on that [getting the big wickets]…,” Nortje said.
Over the years, the 27-year-old South African pacer has faced many injury problems and missed out on many matches.
Nortje, who comes from the town of Uitenhage, north of Port Elizabeth, which is home to the largest Volkswagen factory in the African continent, is known for his express pace and clocks 150kph regularly. He made his first-class debut in the 2017 season and made an immediate impact in white-ball cricket.