Spinnovators assemble

Nicholas Pooran arrived first to bat at the LSG nets on a hot Friday afternoon and straightaway took on the spinners. Ravi Bishnoi, Aiden Markram and a net bowler started him off, serving full deliveries that he routinely deposited deep into the stands over midwicket. About 20 minutes later, Digvesh Rathi arrived at the net after a brief fielding session to join the spin trio. Rathi started with a googly on length that Pooran respected, and defended away on the off-side. Now you could argue that not much should be read into a nets simulation, given the absence of match-like pressure scenarios and stakes, but it spoke to some level of the growing reputation of the newest mystery spinner in town.

To be fair, Pooran did tonk Rathi as the session went on, but the spinner kept coming at him, repeatedly hitting the good length and letting the ball go different directions after pitching. Pooran got a hang eventually, but not before miscuing a handful of his hits to local players stationed near long off. That's been Rathi's USP in the five games so far, where hitting him for a six has not been easy. In a bowling attack assembled at a premium - Ravi Bishnoi (11 Cr retention), Mayank Yadav (11 Cr retention), Avesh Khan (9.75 Cr) and Akash Deep (8 Cr) - Rathi has been an inexpensive yet game-changing signing. LSG picked him unchallenged for just 30 lakh after he'd put in an impressive showing at the Delhi Premier T20 league for the South Delhi Superstarz - led by his LSG teammate Ayush Badoni, by picking 10 wickets in 14 games.

Rathi's 20 overs in five IPL games have come across all three phases (PP: 10, Middle: 6, Death: 4) with an appreciable economy rate of 7.74. Among spinners who've played at least four games this season, only the trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Varun CV and R Sai Kishore have a better ER. He's picked seven wickets in those 20 overs and has also been a game-breaker in terms of match-ups. His variations and sleight of hand - including a Sunil Narine-like ball-masking technique during run-up, has negated any vulnerability that he could possibly have of being taken down by either left or right-handers.

His wicket of Naman Dhir against Mumbai Indians in LSG's last match at home turned the tables on the five-time champions after the promoted No.3 batter had blazed away in the PowerPlay. Rishabh Pant, who translated for Rathi at the presentation ceremony where he picked up the Man of the Match award in just his third IPL outing, showed how quickly the 25-year-old had become a vital cog for the franchise.

"He is one of our leading bowlers. The way he keeps calm in tough situations helps us," Pant had said.

Rathi's dream start to the season has also had a surreal touch to it, as he added his idol Narine to his list of wickets earlier this week with a disguised googly. Rathi has stepped up at different junctures through the five games for Pant and has shown a willingness to bowl for hours on in the nets, an aspect of his game and personality that has impressed head coach Justin Langer.

At the other end of the nine pitches at the Ekana stadium, Gujarat Titans set up shop for training. R Sai Kishore joined his TN and GT teammate Washington Sundar to bowl in an empty net where assistant coach Parthiv Patel laid out length markers on the pitch. Kishore hit the targets and had it cover the horizontal distance of the practice pitch over the next 25 minutes. The left-arm spinner unfurled all the arrows in his quivers, like he's done in the season so far, with a lot of success.

Sai Kishore is three years older to Rathi and has been in the domestic system for a lot longer, grinding it out for Tamil Nadu since 2017. He's not quite had Rathi's luck with walking into XIs in his maiden IPL season, as he warmed the CSK bench for two seasons (2020 and 2021) before playing just five games each in 2022 and 2024 for GT. But they liked what they saw in him in the previous cycle, and used an RTM this year to bring him back and unleash him from the outset. The response from Sai Kishore has been exceptional - 10 wickets and an economy rate of 7.25 while predominantly operating in the middle-overs. Over the years, Sai Kishore has used his red-ball instincts, high release point and the ensuing bounce to his advantage across formats, while developing variations along the way. Against RCB at the Chinnaswamy, he befuddled Krunal Pandya with a carrom ball that the left-hander did not see coming.

"To be relevant in T20 cricket, you have to keep evolving. I have been practicing it [that delivery] for the last 3-4 years, but have not bowled it anywhere. I was confident to bowl it in the IPL and went with my instinct. It is like a carrom ball, so I get more dip on it," Sai Kishore said after that game. Just four days before this, he bowled on a challenging surface at home and had to take a different route to effectiveness.

"I wasn't getting as much purchase, so had to bowl defensively and had to do a job for the team. I've been very honest with myself and worked very hard. Have watched a lot of games and worked on a lot of things for this season, so let's hope this is a wonderful season," he quipped.

His off-season work has translated beautifully into GT's campaign and another TN teammate in the same dugout couldn't help but notice the level at which Sai Kishore is operating.

"I have played a lot with him in Tamil Nadu, and the way he has done well for Tamil Nadu is exceptional, and he is continuing the same form here," Shahrukh Khan said on Friday. "As a team mate and as a state mate, I am very happy for him. The way he is bowling... the way the ball is coming out of his hand... to be honest, I have not seen him bowl this brilliantly and with so much control. There are hardly any loose balls in this tournament, so it is good to see, I am very happy for him."

Rathi and Sai Kishore have arrived front and centre for their sides even while not being the main spin protagonists. It's been a timely elevation with both Ravi Bishnoi and Rashid Khan enduring false starts. They've both poured in copious amounts of the common ingredient - courage - to maximise their skills, and have added a dash of character to the game - a celebration here, a stare down there. Saturday's afternoon fixture offers them the stage for a fascinating square-off.