Prabhsimran Singh produced a magnificent hundred as Punjab Kings recovered from a dismal start to post a competitive 167 for 7 against Delhi Capitals in their must-win IPL match in New Delhi on Saturday.
The 22-year-old opener looked well in control as 10 of his hits reached the ropes, while six crossed over it during his 65-ball 103, only his second T20 hundred and first in IPL.
Prabhsimran paced his innings well as he scored 27 from his first 30 balls before he exploded as his next 76 runs came from 35 balls.
An aggressive approach on a slow track backfired for Punjab with the team losing three wickets for 46 in the first six overs after DC skipper David Warner asked them to bat first.
Prabhsimran and Sam Curran (20) then steadied the ship with a 72-run partnership off 54 balls.
Ishant Sharma was at the forefront as he recovered from a first-ball six to remove Shikhar Dhawan (7) in the next ball with Rilee Rossouw taking the catch at deep backward square leg.
Following two nine-run overs, Ishant returned to destroy the stumps of Liam Livingstone (4), who paid the price for dancing down the pitch after being away from strike for some time with Prabhsimran producing three boundaries.
Prabhsimran looked in good touch as he sent Axar Patel for a six with a reverse hit, but two balls later the left-arm spinner cleaned up Jitesh Sharma (5) who looked to play an inside out shot.
Kuldeep Yadav (1/32) and Praveen Dubey (1/19) kept it tight but Prabhsimran picked up the odd boundaries and rotated the strike to keep things moving for his team.
The momentum shifted drastically after the 11th over when Prabhsimran blasted two successive sixes and then a four off Mitchell Marsh, milking him for 21 runs.
He completed his fifty off 42 balls in the 13th over before slamming Kuldeep Yadav and Dubey into the stands for two maximums.
Curran tried to join the party, but he couldn’t clear the ropes as Dubey picked up a wicket.
However, there was no stopping Prabhsimran as he smoked Kuldeep for a six over deep square leg after a four to inch closer to his century.
He achieved the milestone with back-to-back fours off Khaleel, reaching the three-digit figure in 61 balls.
Prabhsimran finally was dismissed when he was looking for a scoop shot. He ended up being bowled by Mukesh Kumar.