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Before the IPL-19 encounter between Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Hyderabad on Monday evening, Vidarbha pacer Praful Hinge, 24, was an unknown entity. However, after the debutant SRH speedster struck thrice in the very first over of the innings, sending back teen batting sensation opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (0), one-drop Dhruv Jurel (0) and No. 4 Lhuan-dre Pretorius (0), he has become a household name.
Hinge got Sooryavanshi with a short one that was skied and pouched by wicketkeeper Salil Arora. Two balls later, he had Jurel bowled with a length delivery. Two balls after this, he sent back Pretorious flicking one to Nitish Reddy at deep backward square.
Moments after the win Hinge, expressed his gratitude to his family, in particular his father, Prakash. “I started playing cricket at the age of 13. I didn’t even know what leather-ball cricket was back then. When I was 13, I told my father that I wanted to join a club. He refused a couple of times, saying I was too young, but somehow, things started from there. I want to dedicate this award to my family. They’ve made a lot of sacrifices for me,” Hinge said after his record-breaking figures of 4-0-34-4 in SRH’s 57-run win over RR. Hinge became the first bowler in IPL history to take three wickets in the first over
on debut.
For dad Prakash, it’s a “wow moment.” Not just the exclamation but also because of how his son’s feat appeared on the scoreboard. “Praful conceded one run on the first ball and then it was W0W0W…wicket, dot ball, wicket, dot and wicket, so it was wow there too,” an elated Hinge Sr told mid-day over the phone from their Nagpur home, where he watched the match on TV.
“We were confident Praful will do well in his first game, considering his bowling skills and given his dedication, but we never expected such a brilliant performance on IPL debut. The IPL is totally different compared to domestic matches. There’s huge pressure when you’re playing in front of lakhs of people,” added Hinge Sr.
The pacer has represented Vidarbha in 10 first-class games, claiming 27 wickets. Before this IPL debut, Hinge had just one T20 match under his belt, where he picked one wicket against Andhra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Lucknow last December.
When asked about how special it felt to see his son dismiss Sooryavanshi for a golden duck, Hinge Sr replied: “I’m sure it was part of their [SRH] plan because Praful is a tall guy so he could bowl a perfect bouncer to Vaibhav who is known for smashing a six off the very first ball. Vaibhav is a wonderful batsman so, among the three wickets, the first one [Vaibhav] has to be the best,” concluded the proud father.
First
Praful Hinge is the first player ever to take three wickets in the first over of an IPL innings
27
No. of wickets claimed by Praful Hinge in 10 first-class games
One
No. of T20 matches played by Praful Hinge before his IPL debut — against Andhra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last December
Five
No. of wickets claimed by Praful Hinge in six List A games
13
Age at which Praful Hinge started playing cricket
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