He first drew the attention of IPL scouts when he bowled six consecutive yorkers in a Super Over in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. Thangarasu Natarajan continues doing that as he showed against Delhi Capitals on Tuesday as Sunrisers Hyderabad earned their first win of IPL 2020.

Bowing the 18th over of the match, the left-arm medium pacer sent down an astonishing five yorkers — one didn’t quite fall in the slot — that choked up the Delhi chase.

“That’s how you bowl at the back end of an innings ! Outstanding Natarajan,” former Australia pacer Brett Lee tweeted in appreciation.

For Natarajan, 29, the appreciation hasn’t come easy.

Hailing from a humble family in Chinnappampatti, a small village in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, Natarajan honed his skills playing tennis ball cricket.

It was during this time that he made it to the TNPL where he was first signed up by the Dindigul Dragons. His exploits with the ball and ability to deliver yorkers almost at will led Kings XI Punjab to buy him for Rs 3 crore during the 2017 IPL auction. His maiden IPL stint, though, was far from inspiring as he took just two wickets from six matches at an economy rate of 9.07.

Back in the TNPL, in 2018, Natarajan shone again, this time for Lyca Kovai Kings. He caught the attention of Sunrisers’ bowling consultant Muttiah Muralitharan, who too was involved in the TNPL as mentor of VB Thiruvallur Veerans, and he found a place in the Hyderabad franchise.

“He is a very humble guy, a hard worker and has also learnt to regulate his bowling, making sure he doesn’t over-bowl even at nets. He was our strike bowler during the domestic one-dayers and T20s, but we utilised him carefully so that he didn’t get injured.

“He has learnt to manage his cricket better, that’s why he’s getting better results,” Tamil Nadu coach Divakar Vasu, who has also helped Natarajan remodel his action, told The Telegraph from Chennai.

Vasu, a former Tamil Nadu and Assam all-rounder who too bowled left-arm medium, agreed that yorkers are Natarajan’s strong point. “Yorkers are actually his strength. He had lost the ability a bit in the middle because he was trying to work on his action. He got his action right and then got back his yorkers. But more important, it was about getting his confidence back, which is now helping him to deliver,” Vasu said.

Natarajan proved his mettle in the domestic white-ball matches last season. He took 13 and 12 wickets at economy rates of 5.84 and 4.19 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy, respectively, with Tamil Nadu reaching the finals of both competitions.

In the IPL, however, he has made only nine appearances after being roped in by Kings XI in 2017 and Sunrisers the following year.

After warming the Sunrisers benches for two seasons, he finally got an opportunity this time and has featured in all three matches of his team so far. Natarajan has taken a wicket in each of them, including the scalp of Royal Challengers Bangalore captain Virat Kohli. But it was his spell (1/25 in four overs) against Delhi Capitals that stood out.

Back home, Natarajan has not only broken the shackles of poverty and given his family a better life, he has also opened an academy at his village for aspiring cricketers. And training them to execute a perfect yorker.