Accuracy and variations key to Prasidh’s comeback run
Playing IPL after a two-year break, injury-prone Prasidh Krishna has earned the Purple Cap with consistent performances
Mumbai: It’s tough being a fast bowler as injury setbacks are a part of a career you have chosen. And Prasidh Krishna has had more than his share of setbacks. His progress with the India team has regularly been interrupted by injuries. He also missed the last two editions of the IPL after suffering a stress fracture of the back in 2022 and a quadriceps injury in 2024.
Given his tough run, it was quite impressive to see him make a strong return to the tournament. Playing his first IPL after 2022, which was his best picking 19 wickets in 17 games for Rajasthan Royals, he is having a dream run with 14 wickets already in seven games for his new side, Gujarat Titans.
While he had started the tournament well, the real test was expected to be on Saturday, against Delhi Capitals, who have been on a roll this season and occupied the top spot with 10 points going into the game against GT.
To add to the challenge, the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium was an absolute belter. There was very little margin for error. GT came under pressure immediately when their pace spearhead Mohammed Siraj went for 16 and 17 runs in the first and third over of the innings as DC’s KL Rahul and Karun Nair attacked the bowlers and forced them to make mistakes.
Bowling in the searing afternoon heat of Ahmedabad, Prasidh reserved his best performance for the toughest conditions. Amidst the mayhem in the powerplay, there was an excellent over by Prasidh, bowling the fourth over, his first, for just 7 runs and bagged a wicket as well. The 29-year-old from Bengaluru went on to claim a four-wicket haul to make a difference for his side. It helped restrict DC to a total of 203, which proved to about 15 runs short. GT chased down the target with four balls to spare.
Among Prasidh’s wickets were the key batters, Rahul, Nair and skipper Axar Patel.
The in-form Rahul looked in superb touch and it was great to see how Prasidh set him up — a trap set by a flurry of bouncers followed by a toe-crushing yorker. It was a beauty to get his Karnataka senior — full and swinging into the block hole. “That was the only option (yorker) I had in mind because anything on a length was going for runs,” said Prasidh during his mid-innings interview while spelling out the tough conditions for bowling. “The wicket was very nice to bat on. The pace of the wicket was easy for the batters to adjust to. We had to work hard and restricted them to a decent score in the end.”
Prasidh’s tall frame allows him to extract steep bounce while bowling in the high 140s, which makes him a key differentiator in the middle overs. Add to that his variations and the ability to fire yorkers with accuracy and he becomes a potent weapon in the slog overs too as was seen on Saturday. “I was looking to hit the length and try to use the pitch more than I generally do in the death and it worked for me today,” he said.
Purple Cap holder
The performance helped the GT bowler currently lead the wicket-takers’ list in the tournament. There’s no question about Prasidh’s being deserving of the Purple Cap. After a wicketless outing in his season-opener against Punjab Kings where he went for 41 runs, he has picked up at least one wicket in every game.
More importantly, he is enjoying bowling at GT’s home ground, the Narendra Modi Stadium, having picked 3/24 there in the last game versus his former team Rajasthan Royals. Earlier he had a brilliant outing against Mumbai Indians where he picked the big scalps of Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav for figures of 2/18 in four overs versus Mumbai Indians.
Prasidh has played a key role in GT winning three of their four home games. With three more games to go at the Motera, he looks primed to help GT carry forward the momentum, the team having already registered 10 points at the half-way mark.
