Ahmedabad, February 23 For Lungi Ngidi, the turning point in his development as a fine T20 bowler did not come on the international stage, but in the practice nets of the IPL.
A largely unremarkable 2018 season with Chennai Super Kings saw him reshape his craft, as hours spent observing and learning from Dwayne Bravo transformed his slower ball into a decisive weapon.
Ngidi, who returned tidy figures of 0 for 15 in four overs, including 10 dot balls, against India in the T20 World Cup game here on Sunday, once again showcased the subtle variations that have become central to his T20 repertoire. He repeatedly mixed and matched between wide yorkers.
Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav found it difficult to anticipate him, often shaping his deliveries to work what he anticipated would be an off-cutter through the leg-side, only to encounter a different variation.
Tracing the roots of his transformation, Ngidi said: "As I've always said, I was at the IPL in 2018 with Bravo, and that entire IPL, that's all I worked on. I wasn't playing, so I got time to practice it. And then when I got back to South Africa, I just tried to perfect that ball."
He admitted that mastering the art of change-ups was a gradual process.
"Whether it's a slow ball yorker, or back of length or slow ball bouncer. So three different lengths with the same ball. I guess you've got to guess which one's coming next," he said.
Despite not always being the focal point of opposition planning, Ngidi believes that anonymity works to his advantage.
"I think probably just flying under the radar. So not many people pay attention to me. But I guess that helps me in terms of being able to use all these variations," he said.
Explaining his approach against India, he said, "And then tonight, I used my leg cutter because I know that they’re obviously probably preparing for just an off-cutter. I could see Surya set up as well, looking to sort of just lift it over the leg side.
"So just to show him something different, keep him guessing. And that seemed to work pretty well."
For Ngidi, the spell was shaped more by game awareness than the pursuit of wickets.
"But I guess just looking at the scoreboard and seeing their position, I kind of knew what I had to do. It was pretty much more about building pressure than trying to be greedy and put my name up in the wickets column. So, yeah, using that tactic, I guess it worked off pretty well tonight," he said.
He believes the slower ball tilts the balance in his favour, especially in an era where batters look to dominate from the outset.
"But I think having my slower ball gives me the upper hand in terms of batsmen can't just swing every ball. We've seen that a bit in the power play. So once you have to think, I think that's where I come into the game."
For Ngidi, the primary aim is to sow doubts in batter's minds.
"Once you start second-guessing your options, I think that's what a bowler really wants in the end.
"And then all of a sudden, once the pressure's building, I don't think they have an answer for what I'm about to deliver next. So it kind of works in my favour that nobody really thinks about me," Ngidi added.
