There is perhaps no better sight in cricket than to see a pacer running in and uprooting the stumps to send the batter on his bike. Thursday, May 7, will truly be special for Lucknow Super Giants speedster Prince Yadav as he managed to dismiss Virat Kohli on just the second delivery he bowled to him. The seed was truly remarkable, leaving even the former India captain stunned. Kohli, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) talisman, lasted just two balls in the middle and went back to the pavilion for a duck. This was the first score of zero for Kohli in the IPL after 2023, and this was his first in a chase after nine years, with the previous one coming against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2017 – the infamous game where RCB were bundled out for 49 at the Eden Gardens.
After the match between LSG and RCB ended on Thursday at the Ekana, Kohli was seen in a light chat with Prince and the LSG bowling coach, Bharat Arun. The former India and RCB skipper was seen laughing around and even placed his hand on the shoulders of the 24-year-old speedster, seemingly applauding him for bowling a corking delivery.
Speaking of Kohli’s dismissal, the right-hander lost his wicket on just the second delivery of the 2nd over of RCB’s chase. Prince set the batter up very nicely as the first ball of the over was an outswinger. He followed it up with a 140.4kph ball, driving Kohli forward.
The ball, however, seemed in through the gate and uprooted the off-stump, leaving Kohli stunned. On the other hand, Prince jumped in delight only to be swarmed by his teammates.
Kohli gave the blueprint
It seems as if Kohli himself gave the blueprint for getting the better of him. After the match at the Chinnaswamy, Prince revealed that the legendary batter told him exactly which areas he should target while bowling, and he did exactly that at the Ekana.
“After the last match I was talking to Virat bhaiya, and he only told me – as long as it’s moving around off a length, stick to that length,” Yadav told the broadcaster.
Speaking about the match between LSG and RCB, the former came out on top by 9 runs under the DLS method. The Rishabh Pant-led side batted first and posted 209 runs on the board, owing to Mitchell Marsh’s century. However, the target for RCB was adjusted to 213 after the game was reduced to 19 overs per side due to rain.
RCB captain Rajat Patidar hit a half-century, but in the end, the knock didn’t prove to be enough as Digvesh Rathi defended 20 runs in the final over to seal the game for LSG.
