Hyderabad, Apr 14 (PTI) Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Praful Hinge on Tuesday said yorkers are his go-to deliveries and he has put in a lot of effort in perfecting the art, adding that encouragement from India all-rounder Hardik Pandya gave him a huge boost.

Hinge ran through an in-form Rajasthan Royals batting line-up here on Monday to return excellent figures of 4/34 in his maiden outing in the IPL, setting up a massive 57-run victory.

The right-arm Vidarbha pacer was all over RR in his opening spell while recording the first instance of a bowler taking three wickets in the opening over of an innings in the IPL.

“When I was bowling to him, I was quite nervous because everyone knows what kind of batsman Hardik bhai is and what he can do,” Hinge told JioHotstar, recalling playing against Pandya in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

“But after the first ball, the nerves settled, and I told myself I could bowl without taking undue pressure. I kept reminding myself to bowl my best delivery every ball. Yorkers are my go-to deliveries; I’ve practised them the most.” “I bowled good yorkers to him and mixed in a few bouncers as well.

After taking a single, he came up to me and said, ‘Praful bhai, well bowled.’ That gave me a huge boost. After the match, I met him again and he said, ‘You’re doing well, just keep at it. I will see you in the IPL’,” Hinge added.

The 24-year-old credited MRF Pace Academy physio Naveen Babu for spotting a serious injury and helping him get through the recovery phase.

“I was getting calls from the MRF Academy for two years, but didn’t go. The year I finally went, I was injured. Naveen babu, the physio there, examined me and said I had a stress fracture in my back,” Hinge recalled.

“He paid a lot of attention to my recovery, and those seven to eight months were tough. I had to skip one season and returned after that. In the U-23 season, I picked up around 27 to 28 wickets. After that, I was also part of the Emerging India camp.” Hinge said working hard at the academy gave him an opportunity to meet Australian pacers Josh Hazlewood and Jhye Richardson.

“When I went to MRF in the first year, I learned that two players are sent to Australia every year. The next year, I was eager to go, so I performed well in the domestic season, hoping to get that opportunity.

Bowling in Australia was quite an experience,” he said.

“I am a huge fan of Josh Hazlewood, so meeting him was quite special. I also met Jhye Richardson. I asked them about fitness, how to manage oneself during the season, training routines, diet, and more. It was a huge learning curve.” Hinge said he did not prepare any differently for this IPL but listed down his goals.

“I didn’t prepare anything special as such. Whenever I watch a match, I ask myself, ‘What would I do in that situation? How would I bowl?’ So, even if it’s a World Cup match and I imagine bowling to the best batsman in the opposition, I think through my approach,” he said.

“That’s always been my thought process; it keeps me constantly thinking about being in a match situation. My first goal is definitely to win and lift the trophy. Secondly, if I get the opportunity, I will try to win as many matches as I can for my side and give my 100 per cent.” “Apart from that, I would love to take one of the best catches in the IPL and aim for the best fielder award.” PTI

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