Four years after Punjab Kings earmarked Prabhsimran Singh as a talent of reckoning by shelling out ₹4.8 crore at the IPL auction, the opener finally delivered. He smashed 103 off 65 balls in Punjab’s total of 167/7 against Delhi Capitals at the Ferozeshah Kotla ground on Saturday.
In 17 matches before this, the 22-year-old had only notched one half century. This has been a breakthrough season of sorts for Prabhsimran, having featured in all of Punjab’s 12 matches. He had played only six matches across four seasons from 2019 to 2022.
His century helped Punjab clinch a 31-run victory. Left-arm spinner Harpreet Brar (4-0-30-4) and leg-spinner Rahul Chahar (4-0-16-2) also played their part for Punjab on a turning track, sharing six wickets to restrict the hosts to 136/8.
Delhi’s defeat ended any mathematical possibility of their qualification for the playoffs. Punjab remain in contention for a top-four berth.
Despite Prabhsimran’s stirring display, it seemed as though Punjab’s total may be sub-par when Delhi romped to 65/0 in six overs. A spree of boundaries by Delhi skipper David Warner, who strolled to 48 in 21 balls by the end of the Powerplay, set the tempo for the chase. He started his innings by cracking two fours, first pulling a short ball by Rishi Dhawan through midwicket and then cutting one through point.
Fellow opener Phil Salt too got into the act in the third over, finding gaps square of the wicket on the off-side for consecutive boundaries against Brar. Even Nathan Ellis and Arshdeep Singh, among Punjab’s accomplished pacers, conceded 12 runs each in their opening overs.
With the pitch taking prodigious spin though, Punjab fought back as Delhi imploded dramatically, losing six wickets for 19 runs. While Brar dismissed Salt in the seventh over, leggie Rahul Chahar trapped Mitchell Marsh leg-before in the next over. Brar also had Rilee Rossouw caught in the deep in the ninth over. But the turning point was Warner’s dismissal for 54 in the same over as Punjab successfully reviewed a leg-before appeal.
The spin-friendly surface highlighted the value of Prabhsimran’s knock. Sam Curran (20 off 24 balls) was the only other batter in Punjab’s top seven to reach double figures, the duo raising a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Prabhsimran’s effort was a classic example of an innings of two halves. At the 10-over mark, with Punjab on 66/3, the diminutive batter had only reached 27 off 31 balls. That Punjab had lost a cluster of wickets early on may have had a role in his sedate start, but he opened up spectacularly in the second half of their innings.
The moment when Prabhsimran released the handbrake was in the 11th over, hitting consecutive sixes against Marsh. When the Australian banged the ball short, Prabhsimran pulled effortlessly over deep midwicket. Perhaps anticipating a fuller ball up next, Prabhsimran plonked his front foot forward and hit the flattest of sixes to the right of long-on.
The 21-run over got Prabhsimran going. His fifty came off 42 deliveries while his century took 61 balls, showing how effectively he changed gears as his innings progressed. As evident with the younger lot of Indian batters, Prabhsimran isn’t averse to displaying his 360-degree range. He moved from 94 to 98 with a lap past short fine leg off left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed before guiding a low full toss past backward point to bring up his milestone.
Curiously, Sikandar Raza was under-utilised at No. 8, remaining unbeaten on 11 off seven balls. Not that it mattered in the final outcome.
