Two Uttar Pradesh (UP) teammates Yash Dayal and Rinku Singh were on the opposite sides of an incredible game with saw the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) beat the Gujarat Titans (GT) in an exceptional final over at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Rinku smashed five sixes in the ultimate over of the match, off the bowling of left-arm pacer Dayal. He had an extremely poor innings, and finished with 0/69 – the second most expensive over in the history of IPL.
Miles away from Ahmedabad, in his home town of Allahabad, his father Chandarpal Dayal knew exactly what his son was feeling. Years ago while playing the Vizzy Trophy, Chandarpal was smashed for a hat trick of sixes in one over.
On Sunday evening, his son failed to defend 29 runs in the final over. Some of his relatives were present in the stadium, who on Chandarpal's insistence, met Yash to calm him down.
"I told them to go and motivate him. Pick up his morale. He would be understandably depressed. Please go. He speaks very little. He is an introvert, and in such situations, he can become a touch numb," Chandarpal told The Indian Express. "I have been a cricketer but being a father, and mother is something else. I did get a bit depressed, 'kyun hua, kaise hua... (why it happened, how it happened), the mind was in a loop, worried for my son."
Chandarpal also spoke to his son after the match and pepped him up after his one over led GT to their first loss of the season. He reminded Yash that his son was not the only bowler to be smashed like this. Stuart Broad got hit for 6 sixes in an over, but now he is undoubtedly the best bowler in the world.
Another player is Lasith Malinga, who was already in his prime when Virat Kohli dished out a royal hammering in Perth in 2012.
"Ghabraana nahi (Don't get scared). I then said: 'This is not some new thing in cricket. Bowlers getting hit. It has happened to big bowlers. Just do hard work, see where you made mistakes, but remember this is not the first time it has happened in cricket. Big players like Malinga, Stuart Broad have gone through the situation'," he said.
"I told him I am coming there to you; I will be with you… he will bounce back. This was a dark night, and I hope this never recurs again in his life. He will definitely come back strongly."
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