Lucknow spin hero Rathi is obsessed with bowling, coach Langer says

Digvesh Rathi would spend every waking minute bowling if he could, joked Lucknow coach Justin Langer after the Super Giants rookie played a key role in their Indian Premier League win over Mumbai Indians on Friday.

The 25-year-old earned his first player of the match award in the competition after dismissing Mumbai's Naman Dhir and allowing 21 runs at just over five runs per over, while every other Lucknow bowler conceded at least 10 per over.

Mumbai fell 12 runs short of Lucknow's 203 from their 20 overs.

"Like all the great cricketers, all the great spinners, he loves bowling. Oh my gosh, if he could bowl 16 hours a day, he'd bowl 16 hours a day," Langer told reporters of Rathi, who has picked up six wickets in four matches.

"He probably bowls in the corridor of the hotel, he bowls at breakfast, he bowls in the shower, he bowls everywhere ... he is being rewarded for years and years of practice."

Rathi said he likes to absorb pressure for his team and wants to have an attacking mindset like West Indies spinner Sunil Narine, who has taken 182 wickets for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.

"My bowling is such that I like to take wickets. I saw Sunil Narine bowl and since then I like bowling," he said in the post-match presentation ceremony.