Prabhsimran’s impeccable technique to counter the spinners proved the difference on a track that succumbed to the left-arm spinner’s vicious turning deliveries. Harpreet Brar and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar. david warnerChasing the target, a 27-ball 54 was of no importance to the Kings’ pace attack as Brar finished his spell with 4/30 and Chahar with 2/16.
Till Saturday evening, Prabhasimran was on a journey that has seen him blow hot and cold for the greater part of his nascent career. For every frustrating glimpse of promise he has shown over the years, his talent was finally realized on a dry pitch at the Kotla, with Capitals’ three frontline spinners in Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Praveen Dubey . In a matter of 18 overs, he did enough to revive his stock which fell on a Rs 60 lakh contract in 2022, which was pegged at Rs 4.8 crore in 2019 from his first IPL deal.
It was always going to be difficult for the Kings’ overseas recruits on this surface as captain Shikhar Dhawan In the second over, Ishant Sharma was dismissed at deep square leg. It became more difficult when Akshar’s turning delivery clean bowled the red-hot Jitesh Sharma, reducing the Kings to 45/3 inside the powerplay.
as it happened
For a change, Prabhasimran was ready to build an innings. As the other end continued to struggle to middle the ball, he decided to pace the innings as only an experienced home player could on a quintessentially semi-tired pitch, which provided grip and turn for the slower bowlers. Does Every time the Capitals spinners rattled the Kings batting, the young lad had an answer to break the shackles.
The innings, studded with six sixes and 10 fours, may have missed a few catches, but it screamed of a complete understanding of the prevailing conditions. Sitting deep in his crease on a comparatively slow Kotla track, Prabhasimran forced the bowlers to pitch fuller as he pulled them in front of square. He paced the innings by smashing Mitchell Marsh’s slower leg cutter for 21 runs in an over before dismissing Kuldeep in his final over.
On the eve of the match, Kings’ batting coach Wasim Jaffer bemoaned the mismatch with his domestic talent. He would be grateful for Prabhasimran’s clinical effort that kept his team ahead.