In cricket, MS Dhoni built an iconic legacy on ice-cool composure, taking high-stakes contests down to the wire before delivering the lethal final blow. At the 2026 Commonwealth Games, India’s lawn bowls debutant Putul Sonowal is rapidly forging a similar reputation for nerve-shredding, last-gasp brilliance.
Making his debut at the Games, the 43-year-old Havildar with the Assam Police has announced himself on the global stage with back-to-back clutch victories, holding his nerve under immense pressure to remain undefeated in Section D of the Men’s Singles.
A SENSATIONAL DEBUT AGAINST BESTER
Sonowal, ranked World No. 21 and arriving in Glasgow as the reigning Asian Champion, launched his Commonwealth Games campaign with one of the biggest upsets in lawn bowls history. In his opening Section D fixture, Sonowal was matched against Canada’s Ryan Bester – a true titan of the sport. Bester is a 2023 World Outdoors Champion, a three-time Commonwealth Games medallist, and a 2025 World Bowls Hall of Fame inductee. Yet, Sonowal showed zero big-stage anxiety.
The Indian set the tone early by edging the opening set 5-4. Though Bester hit back with a commanding 7-3 display in the second set to force a winner-take-all tie-breaker, Sonowal remained completely unfazed. Demonstrating tactical precision on his final delivery in the decider, Sonowal placed his bowl closest to the jack, leaving the legendary Canadian empty-handed and securing a landmark victory.
DAY 2 DRAMA: ICE-COOL FINISH
If his opening triumph proved his pedigree, Day 2 against Falkland Islands’ Cecil Alexander cemented Sonowal’s status as a master finisher.
Sonowal started strongly, claiming the first set 7-5 after rallying from an early deficit. Alexander fought back impressively in the second frame, taking it 8-6 to force yet another high-stakes tie-breaker.
With everything on the line in the single-end decider, Alexander appeared to have sealed the win after placing his blue bowl directly beside the jack. It seemed mathematically over for India.
Enter Sonowal’s inner Dhoni. Stepping up for the final delivery of the match, Sonowal executed an extraordinary weighted strike. His bowl sailed down the green and smashed directly into Alexander’s blue bowl, knocking it cleanly out of position and allowing Sonowal’s own red bowl to slide in closest to the jack.
It was a moment of pure magic that drew applause even from Alexander himself, handing Sonowal a dramatic (7-5, 6-8, 1-0)win and pushing India to the top of Section D.
ASSAM POLICE TO CWG CONTENDER
Sonowal’s rise to international prominence is a story of grit and quiet dedication. Serving with the Assam Police, Sonowal steadily rose through India’s domestic setup, winning gold in Men’s Triples at the National Championships and bronze in Men’s Singles at the National Games. His watershed moment came earlier in 2026 when he clinched the Men’s Singles gold at the Asian Lawn Bowls Championships in New Delhi, setting up his qualification for Glasgow.
Now sitting at two wins from two matches – both decided by high-wire final deliveries, Sonowal has turned India’s lawn bowls campaign into essential viewing. If he maintains this ice-cool composure, a historic medal drive is well within reach.
LAWN BOWLS: MEN’S SINGLES QUICK GUIDE
- In singles lawn bowls, two players face off by taking turns to deliver four biased (asymmetrical) bowls per round (called an “end”) toward a smaller target ball known as the jack. Matches at the Commonwealth Games are played in a set-play format, consisting of two sets of seven ends each.
- Players score 1 point (shot) for every one of their bowls resting closer to the jack than their opponent’s nearest bowl at the completion of an end.
- The player with the highest cumulative shots at the end of five ends (seven ends in the second set) wins the set.
- If the match is tied at 1-1 in sets, a high-stakes, single-end tie-breaker is played, where the player who secures the lone winning point in that final end takes the overall match.
– Ends
