KOLKATA: A few months ago, one’s bat had done the talking among other boys who were on the cusp of becoming men, fetching India the U-19 World Cup.
Then there was another who had just made the aforementioned graduation. In nearly the same period, this one’s ball had done the talking, fetching Karnataka a Vijay Hazare Trophy in the process.
On Wednesday, a ton of pressure had been shoved upon the young shoulders of Shubman Gill and M Prasidh Krishna.
The right-hander was thrust into the pressure cauldron of Eden Gardens with Kolkata Knight Riders’ scoreboard cutting a sorry figure. The right-arm pacer was thrust into the same cauldron with Rajasthan Royals threatening to make a mockery of his team’s defence.
Both passed their trials by fire. Gill’s 17-ball, 28 run cameo provided the wind that Kolkata’s sails were desperately in need of. Sent in ahead of Andre Russell, Krishna conceded only 14 runs off his two overs in that period, thowing a spanner into the Royals’ chase. Two young guns had shown grit beyond their age for Kolkata when they really needed it, keeping the team’s trophy hopes alive.
“We’ve got a really nice blend of youth and experience. We as a franchise took a position to invest in young guys. The rewarding thing is that guys like Shubman and (Shivam) Mavi are playing beyond their years. Shubman didn’t look perplexed by last night’s situation. He came in at a very tough time, and he looked very controlled and composed. And he’s done that a few times for us,” concurred Kolkata bowling coach Heath Streak on Thursday, the eve of their Qualifier clash against SunRisers Hyderabad.
“Prasidh’s a touch older than these guys, and he’s got more domestic experience. And he’s put that to use brilliantly. These guys have been a huge advantage for us, and they’ve brought us back into many games.”
It’s not as if that Kolkata’s youngsters rising to the occasion against Royals was a flash in the pan. Barring a wicket-less IPL debut against Mumbai Indians, Krishna has sent at least one batsman back to the dugout in the rest of his five outings (10 wickets at an economy and strike rate of 8.50 and 14.4). That also includes a match-winning 4/30 against their Friday’s opponents.
The 21-year-old’s nippy length offerings, bouncers, and cutters have helped the Men in Purple and Gold paper over the pace-bowling woes they had been bogged with last month. Even Mavi has chipped in with a few breakthroughs.
Gill, on the other hand, has helped Kolkata strengthen their batting midriff, hanging around to provide score-boosting cameos, as evidenced by the five not-outs that comprise his 173 runs in the tournament so far. Apart from the ability to keep the scoreboard moving at a good clip (strike rate of 145.37), Gill has also displayed his ability to convert starts into big scores if he has enough time in the middle, with his unbeaten 57 against Chennai Super Kings being a pertinent example.
With the SunRisers juggernaut rolling into their home ground on Friday, these youngsters are in store for another trial by fire, with even higher stakes for Kolkata at hand.