Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Two Debutants Shattered RR's Perfect Season — And Zalmi Refused to Lose Again

 

Praful Hinge IPL debut wickets SRH vs RR and Kusal Mendis Zalmi vs Sultans PSL 2026 April 13

Some nights in cricket, you expect the stars to shine. The big names, the established match-winners, the players everyone already knows. And then two complete unknowns walk out and make history instead.

That is exactly what happened on April 13, 2026. While Peshawar Zalmi quietly extended their unbeaten run in Karachi, it was a stadium in Hyderabad that produced the real story of the night — two debutants called Praful Hinge and Sakib Hussain doing something nobody had ever done before in 19 years of IPL cricket.

Here is your complete April 13 cricket roundup.

🟠 SRH Beat RR by 57 Runs — IPL History Made on Debut Night

Rajasthan Royals walked into Hyderabad as the only unbeaten team in IPL 2026. Four wins from four, top of the table, and carrying the kind of confidence that comes from watching Vaibhav Suryavanshi smash bowlers into the stands every other night. They left 57 runs short and wondering what just happened.

The Ishan Kishan show came first. With Travis Head struggling for touch and SRH needing someone to take the game by the scruff of the neck, their captain did exactly that. Kishan finished with 91 off just 44 balls — six sixes, eight fours — and single-handedly dragged SRH to 216/6. He looked nailed on for a century before a return catch to Sandeep Sharma ended his innings at 91, but by then the damage was already done. Heinrich Klaasen chipped in with a rapid 40 off 26, and SRH had a total that suddenly felt very defendable.

But nothing could have prepared anyone for what came next.

Praful Hinge. Remember that name. Because on his very first over in IPL cricket — the opening over of Rajasthan's chase — he took three wickets. Suryavanshi gone for a golden duck. Dhruv Jurel gone. Lhuan-dre Pretorius gone. Three wickets in one over on IPL debut. It had never been done in 19 years of the tournament. Not once. Hinge did it on his first night.

Rajasthan were 9 for 5 inside three overs. The contest was effectively over before it had even started.

Sakib Hussain then added four wickets of his own to finish with 4 for 24 — the second debutant to take four wickets in the same match. Donovan Ferreira tried his best with 69 off 44 balls and Ravindra Jadeja offered some resistance with 45, but it was never going to be enough. RR were bowled out for 159. SRH won by 57 runs. Their second win of IPL 2026 — and quite possibly the most extraordinary one this tournament will see all season.

🟠 SRH vs RR — Scorecard
🟠 SRH216/6 (20 ov) — Kishan 91, Klaasen 40
🔵 RR159 all out (19 ov) — Ferreira 69, Jadeja 45
ResultSRH won by 57 runs 🏆
⭐ POTMPraful Hinge — 4/34, 3 wickets in opening over

🟡 Zalmi Beat Sultans by 24 Runs — Muqeem The Death Bowling Hero

Meanwhile in Karachi, a top-of-the-table PSL clash was unfolding that had all the ingredients of a classic — and delivered one, just not in the way anyone expected.

Multan Sultans won the toss and chose to bowl, which looked like a smart call. Mohammad Haris immediately made them regret it. The Zalmi opener came out swinging, blasting 38 off just 17 balls — a strike rate of 223 — before being caught in the fifth over. But he had already done the damage, setting a tone so aggressive that Multan's bowlers never quite recovered.

Kusal Mendis then took centre stage. For the third time in PSL 2026, the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper-batter produced a knock of genuine quality — 68 off 40 balls, with 6 fours and 3 sixes. He anchored the innings, kept the scoreboard moving through the middle overs, and gave Zalmi a total of 196/6 that felt about 15 runs more than Multan had bargained for when they chose to bowl first.

The chase looked very much alive through the first 15 overs. Shan Masood, Josh Philippe, and Steve Smith built partnerships and kept Multan within reach. By the 15th over, Sultans were in a strong position — needing around 50 from 30 balls with wickets in hand. It felt like it was going to go right down to the wire.

Then Sufiyan Muqeem happened.

In the final five overs, Muqeem bowled with the kind of control and variation that made Multan's batters look helpless. Three wickets in four overs, just 30 runs conceded, and suddenly a chaseable target had become an impossible one. Nahid Rana backed him up from the other end. Multan scored only 27 runs in those last five overs and lost four key wickets. They finished on 172/8 — 24 runs short. Zalmi stay unbeaten. Muqeem was the deserved Player of the Match.

🟡 PZ vs MS — Scorecard
🟡 Peshawar Zalmi196/6 (20 ov) — Mendis 68, Haris 38
🔵 Multan Sultans172/8 (20 ov) — Masood 35, Philippe 32
ResultZalmi won by 24 runs 🏆
⭐ POTMSufiyan Muqeem — 3/30 in 4 overs

📊 Quick Points Table Update

IPL 2026PWPts
🔵 RR548
🟡 PBKS437
🟠 SRH524
🔴 RCB436
PSL 2026PWPts
🟡 Peshawar Zalmi6511
🔵 Multan Sultans648

The Bigger Picture

Two things stand out from April 13 that will shape how the rest of both tournaments play out.

First — Peshawar Zalmi are genuinely looking like PSL 2026 champions in the making. Six matches, five wins, one washout. No defeats. Every time someone puts pressure on them, they find a way. Muqeem in the death, Mendis through the middle, Haris at the top — this team has match-winners at every stage of the innings. The Zalmi vs Sultans preview we wrote yesterday called this one right — and Zalmi delivered exactly as expected.

Second — the Praful Hinge story is the kind of thing that reminds you why cricket is the greatest sport on earth. Nobody knew his name 48 hours ago. He walked out at Hyderabad in front of a full house, in his very first IPL match, and took three wickets in his opening over. He then finished with four. His partner Sakib Hussain also took four. Two debutants. Eight wickets combined. RR bowled out for 159. It is the stuff of dreams — and the kind of debut that gets talked about for years.

For RR, the loss is their first of the season and a genuine reality check. They had looked unstoppable coming into this match. But every team finds a bad night eventually — and walking into Hyderabad against a fired-up SRH side with two fearless debutants turned out to be theirs. They remain top of the table and the tournament favourites, but the aura of invincibility is gone.

Cricket on April 13 was brilliant. And it is only going to get better from here.

Stay with The Yorker Crew for daily cricket coverage across IPL and PSL. Missed yesterday's action? Check out the Samson 115 CSK roundup and our full GT one-run thriller report to catch up on everything you need to know. 🏏

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Two Debutants Shattered RR's Perfect Season — And Zalmi Refused to Lose Again

  Some nights in cricket, you expect the stars to shine. The big names, the established match-winners, the players everyone already knows. A...