Hyderabad, April 13 (IANS) Vidarbha pacer Praful Hinge announced himself on the big stage by picking three wickets in his very first over for Sunrisers Hyderabad in their IPL 2026 clash against Rajasthan Royals at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on Monday.

Hinge, 24, was picked up by SRH at his base price of Rs 30 lakh at last year’s auction in Abu Dhabi and made an instant impact by dismissing teenaged batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi for a first-ball duck before removing Dhruv Jurel and South African recruit Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the same over.

In doing so, Hinge became the first bowler in IPL history to take three wickets in the opening over of an innings. Tall and nippy, Hinge uses his frame effectively to generate bounce and seam movement. He represents Vidarbha in domestic cricket, and made his senior debut across formats in the 2024/25 season.

Hinge has featured in 10 first-class matches, taking 27 wickets at an average of 26.66, besides picking five wickets in six List A games. His exposure to T20 cricket has been limited, as he played just one senior match before the IPL, where he claimed 1/23 against Andhra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Hinge’s rise has been built on steady progression. He has trained at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai since 2022, where he came under notice of former India pacer and current SRH pace bowling coach Varun Aaron. He even attended a 15-day camp in Brisbane in 2024.

His performances in the inaugural Vidarbha Pro T20 League last year, where he played a key role in Neco Master Blasters’ title run, further enhanced his T20 bowling credentials. Hinge began cricket at the age of 12, and idolises regular SRH skipper Pat Cummins, who is recovering from a lumbar back injury.

He also draws inspiration from India and fellow Vidarbha pacer Umesh Yadav. For now, Monday’s breath-taking spell has instantly turned the little-known Hinge into one of the talking points of IPL 2026, as he bowled a debut spell to remember for ages.

--IANS

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