The spell that broke Mumbai Indians: Prasidh Krishna’s game-changing bowling

Prasidh Krishna didn’t just follow the bowling template in Ahmedabad — he perfected it. On a tricky black-soil pitch, his spell of 2/18 strangled Mumbai Indians, shutting the door on its chase and earning him his first Indian Premier League (IPL) ‘Player of the Match’ award on Saturday.

The 29-year-old pacer’s approach wasn’t random. He had been watching closely from the dugout, noting how Hardik Pandya had stifled Gujarat Titans’ innings earlier in the match. Hardik relied largely on his slower variations – 16 off his 24 deliveries were off-cutters – as he conceded just 29 runs while taking two wickets.

So, by the time Prasidh was introduced in the 12th over, he knew exactly what would work.

“We were sitting and watching how the first innings went. Cutters into the wicket were doing well, and the plan was to make sure I use those lengths,” Prasidh said after the match. “I just figured that was working, so did not want to test the speed gun.”

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Prasidh executed the plan flawlessly. In his first three overs, he conceded just eight runs, suffocating MI’s chase. The only two boundaries he allowed came in the last over when the game was already sealed.

What made his spell stand out was his precise use of variations. He bowled 11 off-cutters, conceding only eight runs off them. His discipline forced MI’s best batters — Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma — into mistakes.

Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav reacts after his dismissal by Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, March 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Tilak was the first to fall after he tried to slog a widish off-cutter only to be caught at long on. Against Suryakumar, he bowled exclusively outside off, cutting off his strong zone on the leg side. The ploy worked as the batter mistimed a slower ball to the deep.

He was even meaner against Hardik, conceding just four runs from eight deliveries, keeping a tight line to deny him any room.

Just like Hardik, Prasidh refrained from pitching the ball up, allowing it to grip on a surface offering variable bounce. While Hardik bowled three full-length deliveries, the Titans pacer delivered just two.

The impact was so significant that Gujarat barely needed Rashid Khan — he bowled just two overs, the fewest in an IPL match where his team completed its quota.

Shubman Gill acknowledged Prasidh’s game-changing performance. “He did a pretty amazing job for us. In the first three overs, he gave just eight runs. In a T20 game when the opposition is chasing 200, the match is almost done there,” the Titans skipper said.

Gujarat Titans’ Prasidh Krishna, center, celebrates with captain Shubman Gill, right, and Mohammed Siraj after taking the wicket of Mumbai Indians’ Suryakumar Yadav during an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 T20 cricket match between Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, March 29, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
PTI

Prasidh admitted he wasn’t used to waiting that long in a T20 match to bowl but was happy to deliver at the crucial moment.

“I don’t really have any words right now,” he said after receiving the Player of the Match trophy. “It was the tenth over, and I thought that I had not waited so long to bowl (in a T20 game), but it paid off in the end.”