Prabhsimran Singh was on the verge of reaching a milestone and, more importantly, creating history. To stop him, Khaleel Ahmed had to bear the weight on his shoulder. It was the fourth ball of the 18th over and he lofted it wide outside off stump.
Prabhsimran spreads his arms, reaches the ball and slashes the ball through the backward point region. The ball ran through the gap and cleared the fence. Prabhsimran’s celebration explained how important the milestone was.
He picked up his bat and helmet, punched with his partner, picked up the bat once again, then put down his bat and helmet and got wet in the moment with folded hands.
Perhaps his dream had come true. The keeper-batsman had scored his maiden IPL century. He became the sixth youngest in the history of the prestigious tournament and the second youngest centurion of the season.
A day earlier, PBKS coach Wasim Jaffer had said that Prabha did not get enough chances earlier and now that he is getting runs consistently, he is showing his talent. This century was nothing less than a tribute to the coach’s statement.
To avoid any confusion, “was thanking the festival management,” Prabhasimran confirmed.
The opener’s innings was well balanced and there was nothing that seemed like a fluke. The powerplay was more cricket-like than a whirlwind T20. Bad balls were edged, good balls were defended like in Test cricket.
Ishant Sharma and Axar Patel bowled like a line in the Test match and prevented Punjab batsmen from batting freely in the beginning. The Punjab batsmen managed only six single runs and ended at 45/3 in six overs.
However, Prabhsimran stood still, though quite silently. He played at a strike rate of 90 in the first 30 balls. The next 35, he smashed at a strike rate of 217.14. While the start was quiet, he started in the middle stage, especially in Mitchell Marsh’s over in which he hit two maximums and a four. He faced only four balls from Marsh, but scored 17 runs.
Prabhasimran then went after Kuldeep Yadav, smashing 27 balls in 15 balls at a strike rate of 180 – which included two fours and two sixes.
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Had the opener carried the bat for 20 overs, PBKS would have reached 180 but he was bowled with 10 balls to spare. As he was walking back to the dugout, Ishant patted him on the back, Rossouw also appreciated the knock with a fist bump. Punjab ended 10 or 15 runs short, or so it seemed at the end of the first innings.
But he had the strength to fight the new philosophy of Delhi.
The powerplay of Delhi Capitals was going on at a stormy pace. They were reeling at 53/0 after five overs. After ducking the first ball of the bouncer Arshdeep Singh, he hit two back-to-back short deliveries towards cow corner.
The first scored four, the next hit a six. The Delhi crowd was roaring the heavy tide with a sea of blue flags.
Delhi reached 65/0 at the end of the powerplay. Warner – 48 off 21 – for the first time in a while, looked at his vintage best. And it became evident early on as Warner hit Rishi Dhawan for two fours to get the innings going.
Delhi were sent on the backfoot as the powerplay ended, waves of blue flags turned to ebb. Harpreet Brar bowled Phil Salt in the seventh over. Rahul Chahar plumbs Mitchell Marsh in the next over. Reilly Rossouw was trapped in the deep in the ninth over, Brar once again the culprit.
Amidst all the madness, Warner dropped a catch and brought up his half-century. However, at the end of the ninth over, he too was adjudged LBW. Rahul Chahar continued the trend and dismissed Axar Patel at the start of the 10th over. Rahul Chahar’s balls were turning. After Akshar’s dismissal, he fielded in two slips, though only for one delivery.
Delhi lost five wickets for 17 runs. The sixth wicket fell after two runs. What started as a dream for the home team turned into a nightmare.
Warner’s comeback was not short-lived, but not very long either. Delhi’s aggressive approach was not misplaced, it did not last long and Rahul Chahar and Harpreet Brar weaved a net for the Delhi batsmen.
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Brar’s first over in the powerplay went for 13 runs, but he took four wickets in the next three overs to bring Delhi to its knees.
Rahul Chahar was even better, turning Test match mode back on by conceding just 16 runs in two overs in four overs.
Delhi had to face defeat many times in this tournament and in the end he was thrown out of the ring after hitting a knockout punch. The points table which looked attractive a few days back has become a bit loose.
By the 15th over of the second innings, the match was almost decided. The fans had started leaving the stands. The blue sea was intact, but only that instead of flags the blue chairs looked more pulsating.