The Night Two Unknown Bowlers Changed Everything.

There is a moment in cricket that stays with you.

Not a six. Not a screaming yorker. Not even a last-ball finish.

It is a golden duck. An over. Three wickets. Gone.

On April 13 in Hyderabad, a 24-year-old fast bowler from Nagpur called Praful Hinge was given the unenviable job of opening the bowling on his IPL debut against Rajasthan Royals’ intimidating pair of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

SRH bought him for Rs. 30 lakh. Nobody outside hardcore domestic cricket followers knew his name.

He dismissed Suryavanshi on the very first ball. Then Dhruv Jurel. Then Lhuan-dre Pretorius. Three wickets in one over. The first bowler in the history of the IPL to take three wickets in the opening over of an innings. He then dismissed Riyan Parag in his next over to finish with 4 for 18.

His father had pushed him into fast bowling when he initially preferred batting. He fixed an illegal bowling action early in his career. He trained at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai and at a high-performance camp in Brisbane. He idolises Pat Cummins and had actually manifested this moment. He had written it down somewhere that his first IPL match he would take four or five wickets.

Rs. 30 lakh. First ball of his IPL career. Suryavanshi gone for a golden duck.

But Hinge was only half the story that night.

Sakib Hussain is 21 years old. He comes from Gopalganj, Bihar. His father was a farmer and daily-wage labourer. The family lived an “earn today, eat today” existence. Cricket was never the original plan. He wanted to join the Indian Army.

He was picked up by KKR in the 2024 auction for Rs. 20 lakh, was part of their title-winning squad without playing a single game. He went unsold at the 2025 auction. He went back to domestic cricket, trained harder, took a stunning 6 for 41 against Arunachal Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy, and SRH picked him up for Rs. 30 lakh in 2026.

On debut against RR, Sakib took 4 for 24. He dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal with his first wicket and came back in the 15th over to remove Donovan Ferreira when he was threatening to win the game for RR. The joint-best bowling figures by an Indian on IPL debut.

Two debutants. Rs. 60 lakh between them. Eight wickets shared. RR bowled out for 159 as SRH won by 57 runs.

The boy who had been terrorising every bowling attack in this IPL. The teenager with the 15-ball fifties and the 78 off 26. Out. First ball. Golden duck. To a man earning Rs. 30 lakh on his first day in IPL cricket.

That is not just a cricket story. That is India’s story.

Seven Days. Nine Matches. So Much Happened.

Let me take you through the rest of the week.

Saturday April 12 gave us a double-header and the second match at Wankhede was the one everyone was talking about the next morning.

RCB posted 240 for 4. Phil Salt was breathtaking. Patidar smashed three consecutive sixes to start his innings. Rohit Sharma retired hurt on 19 with a hamstring issue. And then came Sherfane Rutherford in the death overs for MI. The powerful left-hander blasted an unbeaten 71 off just 31 balls, hitting 9 sixes into the Mumbai night sky. Even in defeat, that innings was something to behold. RCB won by 18 runs but Rutherford deserved a standing ovation.

The first match that Saturday, LSG versus GT in Lucknow, was more straightforward. Prasidh Krishna took 4 for 28 to restrict LSG to 164. Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler put on 85 together to chase it down with ease. GT quietly on the move. Nobody talking about them. That is exactly when teams become dangerous.

Then came Monday April 13. Hyderabad. The Hinge and Sakib night I opened this blog with.

Tuesday April 14. Chepauk. CSK versus KKR.

I need a moment here.

I have been a KKR fan since 2008. I have seen bad years. I have lived through the dark seasons where we finished bottom half and I still believed. Next year will be different, I told myself every time.

CSK posted 192. KKR chased and managed only 160. Lost by 32 runs. Noor Ahmad ran through the middle order and KKR lost four wickets for just 14 runs in four overs. Five losses in six games. Still without a win. The only point we have came courtesy of rain.

Wednesday April 15. RCB versus LSG at Chinnaswamy. Young Rasikh Salam Dar took four wickets and Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three as LSG were bowled out for 146. RCB chased it with five overs to spare. Clinical. Ruthless. RCB continue to look like champions defending their title.

Thursday April 16. Wankhede. MI versus PBKS. Rohit missing with that hamstring. Quinton de Kock, promoted up the order, scored an unbeaten 112 off 60 balls to drag MI to 195 from 12 for 2. A magnificent innings. The kind you frame on a wall.

PBKS chased it like they were going for a morning walk. Prabhsimran Singh scored 80 not out off 39 balls. Shreyas Iyer scored 66 off 35. They got there in 16.3 overs with 7 wickets in hand. Against Bumrah. At Wankhede. PBKS simply do not know how to lose.

Friday April 17. Ahmedabad. GT versus KKR.

Cameron Green finally showed his class with 79 off 55 balls. But KKR posted only 180 after losing three wickets in the first four overs. Shubman Gill then scored 86 off 50 and made the chase look like a net session. GT won by five wickets.

Six losses. One rain point. Sitting at the bottom of the table. I do not know how to feel anymore. I truly do not.

Saturday April 18 gave us a double-header to close the week. And David Miller finally buried his ghosts.

Remember that gut-wrenching DC versus GT match a fortnight ago? Where Miller needed 2 off the final ball and missed? Where Buttler ran out his partner and GT won by one run?

Last evening at Chinnaswamy, DC were chasing RCB’s 175 and needed 15 off the final over bowled by Romario Shepherd. Miller walked across and smashed two sixes and a boundary. DC won by 6 wickets with one ball to spare.

KL Rahul scored 57 and Tristan Stubbs made an anchoring 60 to set it up. Miller just finished it.

Cricket gives redemption. Slowly. Painfully. But it gives it.

The second match that evening in Hyderabad, Abhishek Sharma blazed a fifty and SRH beat CSK by 10 runs. CSK’s playoff hopes are now under genuine pressure.

Where Things Stand

PBKS and RCB are the real deal this season. Both have batting depth, bowling options, and genuine belief. The race between them for the top spot will define the second half of the league stage.

RR have had their first stumble. Suryavanshi will bounce back. He is 15. He has nothing to be afraid of. But that Hinge and Sakib night was a reminder that this tournament humbles everyone eventually.

And KKR.

Six games. One point. Bottom of the table.

Today is KKR versus RR at Eden Gardens. A home game. Our ground. Our crowd.

I want to believe. I always do.

But this KKR needs to find something urgently. A win. Any win. Before the season disappears completely.

Tell Me What You Think

What was your moment of this week?

Hinge’s golden duck first ball? Sakib’s 4 for 24 on debut? Rutherford’s 9-six blitz in a losing cause? Or Miller’s redemption at Chinnaswamy?

And fellow KKR fans. Tell me honestly. Are you still believing? Because I am trying very hard to.

Drop it in the comments. I read every single one.

If you missed last week’s blog, read it here.