Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna has found himself in the eye of a storm following a string of expensive bowling performances in the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. After a disastrous outing in the 2nd ODI in Raipur, where he conceded a massive 85 runs in just 8.2 overs, fans were hoping for a turnaround in the series decider.

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However, the 3rd ODI in Visakhapatnam began on a grim note for the speedster. Krishna struggled to find his rhythm early on, leaking 27 runs in his first two overs. This immediate release of pressure on the South African batters, right after the team had suffered a heavy defeat in the previous match, triggered an avalanche of criticism on social media.

One user wrote after the 2nd ODI, "In 148 years of Test cricket, Prasidh Krishna holds the worst economy rate ever for anyone who’s bowled 500+ balls. And then you pick him in ODIs… honestly, this outcome was kind of written on the wall." Today, after Prasidh Krishna went on to concede another 27 in his first 2 overs, the same user ranted long and hard about the incompetence of the pacer.

He listed down some match facts for readers to see: "Sir Prasidh Krishnas speciality : - Until the 8th over, India’s bowling was under control. - Arshdeep and Harshit Rana were bowling well, and the pitch seemed to help the bowlers. - Then Prasidh Krishna came into the attack. - He was hit for a six in his first over. - In his second over, he conceded two sixes and a four. - In just two overs, he gave away 27 runs. - The bowling suddenly looked like it was happening on a flat pitch. - Surprisingly, selectors didn’t pick a single backup pacer. - They relied completely on Prasidh - This is exactly how selection decisions have been happening lately."

Another fan tweeted, "According to Ajit Agarkar, Prasidh Krishna is India's one of the best pacer & he is selected in all formats when Siraj is restricted to only 1 format & Shami is forced to play only domestic or sit at home. Prasidh is even worse than Ashok Dinda, how Agarkar is not sacked yet?"

The frustration was palpable among supporters as another fan tweeted, "That’s some really pathetic bowling by Prasidh Krishna. When bowlers like Arshdeep and Harshit Rana are keeping their economy at 2 or 4, you simply can’t be going at 13+ an over. Still don’t know why Gautam Gambhir didn’t select Siraj or Shami instead of him."

Others used humour to cope with the leaking runs. "If Pakistan has Haris Rauf, then India has Prasidh Krishna, both are Run-machines 🤐", a fan tweeted.

Another tweet showed Virat Kohli's reaction to Prasidh Krishna's horrendous bowling in his first spell.

Prasidh Krishna makes a comeback

However, his fortunes changed dramatically when Prasidh came back into the attack after some time. In his first over back, he gave away just a couple of runs and kept Matthew Breetzke at bay before trapping him leg before wicket in his next over. Then Prasidh went on to pick up the 2 very important wickets of the first last match's centurion, Aiden Markram, and then this match's centurion, Quinton de Kock, both in the same over. And suddenly, from having conceded 27 in his first 2, Prasidh Krishna had 3 wickets to his name on the day.