The IPL 2026 has been turning out a great platform for the largely unheralded, lesser-known uncapped Indian players.
After Sameer Rizvi and Mukul Choudhary entertained everyone with their classy wrist work, it was time for two young fast bowlers, Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain, both making their debuts together for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), to thrill the fans with their bowling.
Hinge, in particular, had a dream IPL debut on Monday evening against the Rajasthan Royals as he laid down the gauntlet in the first over by dismissing the season’s hitherto batting phenomenon, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, for a first-ball duck.
Hinge rose in the atmosphere and glided close to the sun as he produced a historic, unprecedented, triple-wicket first over, claiming the wickets of Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, both also for ducks.
Praful became the first bowler in the 19 seasons of the IPL to pick up three wickets in the first over of an innings. That this was his first over on his IPL debut made it a fairytale beginning for the youngster.
In his next over, Hinge got rid of the RR captain, Riyan Parag.
Between Hinge’s two overs, Hussain had prised out Yashasvi Jaiswal, and at one point, RR’s scorecard resembled a football scorecard reading 4-4, which later turned into 9-5.
What was Praful Hinge’s auction price?
Praful Hinge was bought by SRH in the IPL 2026 mini-auction for his base price of INR 30 lakhs.
Who is Praful Hinge?
Hinge is a 24-year-old medium-fast bowler from Nagpur and plays domestic cricket for Vidarbha. Quite shockingly, Hinge’s IPL debut against Rajasthan was only his second T20 match in senior cricket, having played one Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy game in December for Vidarbha.
Praful made his first-class debut in October 2024 and has 27 wickets at an average of 26.66 in 10 FC matches under his belt, with a best of 4/60.
He has likely impressed the onlookers during the Vidarbha Pro T20 League 2025, when he made a significant impact on his team, Neco Master Blasters’, run to the title.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Praful began playing cricket at the age of 12 and idolizes Australian captain and premier fast bowler Pat Cummins, also the regular SRH skipper.
Despite his lack of experience, Hinge was handed the new ball by SRH’s interim captain Ishan Kishan, and he rocked the RR top order.
Hinge first bounced out the in-form Sooryavanshi and then clattered the off-stump of Jurel before closing out the over with Pretorius’ wicket, caught in the deep on the legside.
On the last ball of his second over, the right-arm pacer had Parag edging to first slip as RR slipped further.
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