LUCKNOW: On a damp and drizzly evening in Lucknow, under lights, a young seamer produced a moment that instantly entered IPL folklore. Prince Yadav delivered a ball that not only rattled Virat Kohli's stumps but also shaped the contest's fortunes.
The Delivery That Stunned Cricket
In the second over of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's chase of 210, Prince Yadav bowled a 140-kmph delivery. The seam was upright, wrist firm. The ball jagged back sharply, breached Kohli's defence, and crashed into the off stump. Silence followed, then shock. Kohli was dismissed for a duck, his first in the IPL since April 2023. In that moment, Prince joined an exclusive list, becoming just the 11th bowler in IPL history to dismiss Kohli for a duck and only the second after Dhawal Kulkarni in 2016 to bowl him for zero.
A Spell That Defined the Match
If that was the headline act, the spell around it ensured it wasn't a one-ball story. Prince finished with three wickets, controlling phases of the innings with pace, variations, and composure. The effort propelled him to third in the Purple Cap race. He now has 16 wickets from 10 games, just one shy of leaders Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Anshul Kamboj. More importantly, it snapped Lucknow Super Giants' six-match losing streak and kept their flickering playoff hopes alive.
Team First Mentality
Despite the enormity of the moment, Prince was quick to shift focus from personal triumph to team effort. "I'm really happy to have taken the wicket, but the thing I'm most happy about is that we won the match. If I had taken the wicket and we had lost, I wouldn't be, so the best thing is that the team won," he said. The win, he insisted, didn't alter the mood as much as it validated the belief within. "The atmosphere in the dressing room was good before, and is good now as well. Winning and losing happens in cricket, but our team is always putting in the effort. With regard to the playoffs, we're just thinking match-by-match, and we'll try our best."
Praise from the Opposition
Interestingly, praise also came from the opposition camp. RCB captain Rajat Patidar, who has seen Prince closely in domestic cricket, underlined the threat he poses. "We played a lot of domestic matches with Prince in Delhi. I have seen him for a long time. He has a lot of variations. He has pace. He has swing. He is a proper fast bowler. He bowled really well today, especially the slow balls that he tried. I think that was a game-changing spell," Patidar said. "One of his qualities is that he trusts his skills. That is commendable. He has given his team an important early breakthrough. He is an expert in that. I have never seen him give a lot of runs."
Guidance from Fast-Bowling Legends
Behind the rise lies guidance from some of India's finest fast-bowling minds. Prince credited bowling coach Bharat Arun and senior pro Mohammed Shami for shaping his game. "I've been discussing a lot with Arun sir, and Mohammad Shami bhaiyya also. We've had a lot of good talks, and even during the match we talk as well," he said. On Shami's impact, Prince offered a glimpse into the quieter details that define elite teams. "I have got to learn a lot with the new ball from Mohammed Shami, but the thing I appreciate the most about him is that whenever any bowler is bowling, he'll stand at mid-off or mid-on to help them. When an experienced player is with you like that, you become much more confident."
Supporting Teammates
There were contributions at the death too, and Prince was quick to back teammate Digvesh Rathi. "You'd have seen last year that he had a great year, and this year he's also doing well, he's one of our best bowlers. So we never had any doubt that he would defend it (20 in the final over), and it's good that he was able to." Even a mid-game lapse in the field couldn't derail him. "That misfield (off a Jacob Bethell backfoot punch) went for four, I can't take it back, and I had to leave it there. If I had kept it in my mind, I would have gone out of the game. So I had to leave it behind and think about how I can still contribute for the team, and it was through that catch."
A Star is Born
In a tournament built on stars, it took one searing delivery from a 24-year-old to steal the spotlight. It was a moment when Prince didn't just strike, he dethroned The King.
