Reza Khan was ecstatic after witnessing Saurabh Netravalkar's exceptional spell that took down Indian cricket icons Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Khan, who owns the North American Cricket League indoor centre where Netravalkar hones his skills, decided to honour the bowler’s achievement by commissioning a 12x12 poster of him to display at his academy.
Recalling Netravalkar's dedication, Reza shared, "He would tirelessly bowl 50 inswingers, 50 outswingers, and 50 bouncers each session. Often, he’d continue until he hit the perfect spot consistently. He's a perfectionist. He even uses an app to track his practice sessions, noting down which areas he targeted and how often he hit those spots. His training goes beyond skill; it's about relentless perseverance. He even runs in the rain. It’s truly remarkable."
This intense commitment seemed to have culminated in a career-defining performance, reminiscent of an actor's stellar debut on Broadway after years of rehearsing. Just 30 miles east of Broadway, Netravalkar delivered his standout performance in front of a nearly packed stadium. Reflecting on his first delivery to Kohli, Netravalkar said, “That’s my stock ball.” This was the same outswinger that had undone Mohammad Rizwan in Dallas, a delivery Khan had watched him perfect over countless sessions.
Netravalkar understood Kohli’s tendency to engage with the ball early and set up the perfect trap. His stock outswinger was pitted against Kohli’s signature cover drive. The ball moved away just enough to edge Kohli out for his first golden duck in his sixth T20 World Cup. Netravalkar followed this up with a testing sequence to Rishabh Pant, narrowly missing the stumps with an inswinger.
USA head coach Stuart Law praised Netravalkar, noting that his confidence was evident, especially after his crucial performance in the Super Over against Pakistan. “He was on fire. After his showing against Pakistan, he bowled brilliantly again. That ball to Pant that almost hit the stumps could have changed the game. He’s earned the nickname ‘Iceman’ for his composure in the Super Over. Another wicket at that point could have shifted the game entirely,” Law observed.
In his next over, Netravalkar outsmarted both Sharma and legendary commentator Ricky Ponting. Ponting had anticipated a field change suggesting an inswinger to Sharma, but Netravalkar delivered a scrambled seam delivery that moved away, catching Sharma off guard and resulting in a leading edge.
Netravalkar explained his strategy, “There was a bit of seam movement, so I mixed up my inswing and angled seam deliveries to create unpredictability. It’s good to keep the batsman guessing.”
While Netravalkar's earlier performance against Pakistan had already garnered significant attention, his feat of deceiving two of India’s top batsmen within six balls has surely earned him admiration from cricket fans worldwide.