India, March 29 -- Not many know that just two days before the 2026 IPL opener, Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Jacob Duffy had won a very prestigious award in New Zealand Cricket (NZC). Actually, three in all.

If most of us had known that in India, we wouldn't have been that surprised by his match-winning performance against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday night. In the blink of an eye, Duffy had removed the most dangerous opening pair in world cricket today, yes, that of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, who proved to be a thorn in Australia's flesh during the 2024-25 Test series in Down Under, was his next victim to set the tourists on a path where they ended up getting fewer runs at the en...