Praful Hinge woke up before his IPL debut as just another promising domestic pacer. By the end of the night, he had not only broken records for Sunrisers Hyderabad but also broken the internet.

From around 4,000 Instagram followers to nearly 1.85 lakh within hours, Hinge’s rise off the field mirrored the chaos he created on it during SRH’s win over Rajasthan Royals. Three wickets in his first over, four in the match, and suddenly everyone knew his name.

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What made it even more surreal was how quickly it all happened. One over was all it took for Hinge to flip the game, derail RR’s chase, and turn himself into the story of the night.

For a player picked as a backup for Rs 30 lakh, this wasn’t just a debut. It was a full-blown announcement.

HOW WAS PRAFUL HINGE’S IPL DEBUT?

It was the kind of debut that doesn’t come with a build-up. It just explodes.

Hinge struck with just his second ball, removing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and then went into overdrive. Dhruv Jurel and Lhuan-dre Pretorius followed in the same over, all for ducks, as RR collapsed before they could even settle.

Watch the video here:

Three wickets in his very first IPL over. On debut. That’s not just rare, it’s unprecedented.

He returned later to remove RR captain Riyan Parag, finishing with figures of 4 for 34 and leaving Rajasthan at 9 for 5 at one stage. The match was effectively done right there.

On a night when runs were expected to dominate, Hinge’s spell flipped the script entirely.

PRAFUL HINGE BEFORE HIS IPL DEBUT

Before this breakout moment, Hinge’s journey had been steady rather than spectacular.

He had built his reputation in domestic cricket, picking up 27 wickets in 10 first-class matches at an average of 26.7. A disciplined seamer, someone who did the basics right more often than not.

When SRH picked him up, he wasn’t seen as an immediate starter. Just a promising option in the background.

Now, he’s anything but that.

Because in the IPL, sometimes all it takes is one spell to change everything.

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