Punjab Kings defeated Chennai Super Kings by 54 runs on Sunday (April 3) to win the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 for the second time. At the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai, the defending champions were bowled out for 126 while chasing 181 runs. Meanwhile, Vaibhav Arora, a young pacer, played a key role in Punjab's victory.
His inclusion in the playing XI originally aroused some concerns because he was chosen above veteran pacer Sandeep Sharma, who has a wealth of IPL experience. However, the youngster's decision was vindicated by a great performance in his IPL debut. He broke the backbone of CSK's batting line-up by dismissing Robin Uthappa and Moeen Ali inside the powerplay overs.
In his quota of four overs, he completed with figures of 2/21. Vaibhav's brilliant performance came on the same track where PBKS batsmen like Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, and even another debutant, Jitesh Sharma, tonked the ball. The right-arm pacer, on the other hand, was too hot for the CSK players to handle.
The few facts about Vaibhav Arora:
Vaibhav Arora was born on the 14th of December, 1997. He is currently 24 years old.
2. In the domestic circuit, Arora represents Himachal Pradesh and made his First-Class debut against Saurashtra in 2019.
3. In 2021, the right-arm bowler debuted in T20 cricket against Chhattisgarh.
4. For IPL 2020, PBKS has signed Arora as a net bowler.
5. Vaibhav Arora previously played for the Kolkata Knight Riders but did not get an opportunity to play.
6. After a heated bidding war with Kolkata Knight Riders, PBKS purchased the uncapped pacer for INR 2 crore in the super auction.
7. Vaibhav has been playing junior cricket alongside fellow PBKS pacer Arshdeep Singh. The two are known to have a close relationship.
8. Vaibhav considered retiring from cricket due to financial difficulties a few years ago, but his boyhood coach Ravi Verma kept him going.