Prasidh impresses in quality bowling unit
MUMBAI: This is proving to be the season of young Indian fast bowlers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Umran Malik has put everyone else in the shade with his fiery spells, but there are quite a few others who have lit up the stage too.
Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) Prasidh Krishna is one such speedster making an impact.
Swing bowler Trent Boult is setting the tone for the Royals with early breakthroughs, before their spin duo of R Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal begins strangulating the opposition in the middle overs with sublime skills. Prasidh, meanwhile, is acing it by adapting to the various roles that the team requires him to play. The India one-day bowler is delivering the goods with the new ball as well as bowling the crucial overs while defending totals.
While Malik is dishing out spectacular shows with raw pace, Prasidh, perhaps the most improved pacer, is proving to be a smart operator. In February, the 26-year-old provided a glimpse of his quality in the ODI series against West Indies. He was the player of the series, picking up nine wickets in three games and capping it off with three for 27 in 8.1 overs in the third ODI.
Brought for R10 crore by the Royals at the IPL auction, the Karnataka pacer has carried that confidence into the league, bagging 10 wickets in eight matches so far at an economy rate of 7.84 and strike rate of 19.20.
The numbers are all the more impressive taking into account the high-pressure situations in which he is called upon to bowl.
Captain Sanju Samson often turns to Prasidh for the crucial 19th over in run chases, which can not only transfer the pressure back to the batting side but also provide a cushion to his bowling partner in the final over.
The scalps in his kitty are testament to how Prasidh has taken his game to another level.*
His victims this season include Kane Williamson and Rahul Tripathi of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), Mumbai Indians (MI) captain Rohit Sharma, Jason Holder of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and Delhi Capitals’ (DC) David Warner and Rishabh Pant. Add Virat Kohli to the list from Tuesday’s game.
Prasidh is bowling quicker with better control over swing, while also displaying the game awareness to outfox batters. “Earlier he would bowl too full, now he is bowling the hard lengths. He has got more control over his line and swing as well,” BK Ravi, a BCCI umpire for whose club, Mount Joy CC, Prasidh has played throughout his career in Bengaluru, said.
After starting the season with a spell of two for 16 in four overs against SRH, he made the difference against MI by winning the one-on-one battle with the big-hitting Kieron Pollard in the slog overs.
The game was in the balance when Prasidh began the 17th over, in which he restricted Pollard to seven runs before the West Indian smashed Boult for a six and four in the 18th. With Pollard still out there and the equation 39 off 12, no defending side can breathe easy. Prasidh though was composed, keeping him guessing by varying his line and length every ball of the 19th over. Bowling full and wide and away from the big man’s hitting arc, Prasidh conceded just 10 runs and took a wicket. Even the solitary four by Pollard was off an outside edge over third man.
In the game against Kolkata Knight Riders, 18 were needed off 12 balls after Boult leaked 20 runs in the 18th over. Prasidh gave away just seven runs—one couple, four singles and a wide—in the penultimate over to help Royals pull off a tight seven-run win.
And who can forget that 19th-over wicket-maiden against DC. With the Capitals requiring 36 from the last two overs, Prasidh rose to the occasion to kill the game as a contest and finish with figures of three for 22. Coming around the wicket to Lalit Yadav, the right-arm pacer bowled wide yorkers two balls in a row. The third ball, outside off again, found the edge of Yadav’s bat and into Samson’s gloves. Three more dots to Kuldeep Yadav and the job had been completed in style. In their last game in Pune on Tuesday, RR defended 144 for eight against a powerful Royal Challengers Bangalore batting line-up. Prasidh bounced out the experienced Kohli for nine runs in just his second over. The former India captain was beaten for pace in his attempt to hook the ball.
After his impactful spell against RCB, Prasidh spoke about his role in a quality RR bowling unit: “Boulty is a better powerplay bowler, he sets the tone for me. I come on in the middle overs and if the captain feels I should bowl at the death overs then I bowl at the death,” he said.
Having an IPL legend in Lasith Malinga as the team’s bowling coach is also helping Prasidh develop game awareness.
“Lasith is a legend of the game. I pick his brains, we keep chatting about how we react in different situations.”