Can dismiss even Kohli in current form: Arun Lal praises young pacer Ishan Porel

The ongoing season of the Ranji Trophy is up and running with few youngsters making big impacts this season. The latest one to caught the eyes of everyone is Bengal’s young pace sensation Ishan Porel. He was at his best on Monday as he caught India batsman KL Rahul plumb with a sharp in-swinger to leave Karnataka reeling at 98 for three in the Ranji Trophy semifinal.

Bengal Ranji team coach Arun Lal couldn’t resist to appreciate his player’s tremendous bowling and also gave a strong statement that he now has the ability to even dismiss the Indian captain Virat Kohli.

“He’s in great form at the moment. He’s bowling deliveries that can get big batsmen out, like a KL Rahul, or a Virat Kohli. He’s bowling that kind of bowling.”

Arun also went on to remember his 4/50 against Andhra in the league stage in which he dismissed another experienced Indian player Hanuma Vihari and had words full of praise for the outstanding bowling figures.

“He’s bowling it on that channel. You won’t see him bowling one outside leg stump. He’s testing you all the time. He doesn’t give too many runs that’s another pressure. KL Rahul is at the peak of his ability at the moment. You watch him scoring runs, he’s magnificent, terrific. It’s a great achievement to get him out cheaply. He got Hanuma out with the delivery that rose up from length. I think he’s ready, to me he’s almost there,” he said.

Fresh from India A’s tour to New Zealand, Porel was also the wrecker-in-chief with his 5/39 as Karnataka folded for 122 in their first innings. He struggled with his fitness in the past and was also injury prone, but the coach assured that he worked on his fitness as he’s extracting pace and bounce to intimidate the batsmen at ease.

Porel is set to play in the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). He has been signed by the Kings XI Punjab and the Bengal coach hopes he now starts to shine with the ball in the shortest format of the game as well.

“Playing IPL gives you huge experience, mental makeup, and confidence. If you get International batsmen out, win the match it’s huge and adds another dimension to you. The world today demands that you play all formats,” Arun concluded.

Meanwhile, Bengal were bundled out for 161 runs but their massive first-innings lead of 190 runs and they still were the favourites to make it to their first Ranji Trophy final in 13 years. The Karnataka spinner K Gowtham said they’re not yet ready to give up and expressed his willingness to chase down the target.

“We are confident. hopefully, we come out with winning colours tomorrow. We need to focus and put a price tag on our wickets. Hopefully, it comes outright,” he said.