Ek aisa tamasha jo sirf ek pace bowler ke sapne mein hi dikhta hai, Punjab Kings (PBKS) ke zabardast jodi, Kyle Jamieson aur Arshdeep Singh, ne IPL final ko RCB ke liye saza ka maidan bana diya, unhe 190 for 9 pe rok ke. Woh pitch, arre bhai, woh toh cricket ka maidan kam aur seamers ka khel ka adda zyada tha, thodi si masaledaar bounce deke har pace-off delivery ko RCB ke batsmen ke liye gaali jaisa feel karaya.
Jamieson, woh lamba Kiwi jo ek haath se wicket le aur doosre se basketball dunk kar sakta hai, apne full flow mein tha, ball ko pitch mein aise thok raha tha jaise koi gussa hua carpenter kheele thokta hai. Uski slower balls itni chhupa-rustam thi ke polygraph test bhi fail ho jaye. RCB ke batsmen, jo speed aur bounce ki ummeed mein the, woh toh aise khel rahe the jaise andhe bacche piñata ko maarne ki koshish kar rahe ho. Aur Arshdeep Singh, apne teekhe action aur ek aisi smile ke saath jo kehti thi “mujhe kuch pata hai jo tujhe nahi,” bilkul unstoppable tha. Uski cutters pitch pe aise chipke jaise baccha apna pasandida toy pakadta hai, RCB ka middle order toh aisa lag raha tha jaise unhone bat pakadna hi bhool gaya.
Pitch khud hi asli boss thi, thodi si madad deke har ball ko lottery ticket bana diya bowlers ke liye. Pace-off? Arre, pace toh gayab ho gaya! RCB ke bade-bade guns—Kohli, Maxwell, wagairah—bas tuk-tuk khel rahe the, ummeed mein ke koi chamatkar ho jaye, jo kabhi hua hi nahi. Innings khatam hui toh RCB ka scorecard ek dukhi-dukhi grocery list jaisa lag raha tha: do-char bade naam, dher saari single-digit runs, aur regret ka ek bada sa thaila.
PBKS ke seamers ne bas bowling nahi ki, unhone chaos ka orchestra bajaya, Jamieson aur Arshdeep jaise conductors the. RCB ke batsmen, bechare, apni optimism ke saath dugout mein wapas aaye, sochte hue ke kya unhone galti se IPL final ke bajaye bowling clinic ke liye sign up kar liya tha. PBKS ke ladke abhi bhi shayad hans rahe honge, jaante hue ke unhone ek star-studded lineup ko apne bowlers ke WhatsApp group ka highlight reel bana diya. Ab chase ki baari hai—good luck, bhai log, yeh toh tumne kama liya.
