The season opener of the IPL 11 turned out to be a nail-biting contest. Youngster Mayank Markande’s brilliant effort went in vain, as Dwyane Bravo sealed a win for Chennai. MS Dhoni-led CSK won the toss and elected to field.
Ishan Kishan, Surya Kumar Yadav sizzled with the bat. But it was Krunal Pandya, who helped Mumbai put on the perfect closure to the innings. Pandya made 22-ball 41 and forged a solid stand with Hardik Pandya. Hardik made a 20-ball 22, with the help of a couple of boundaries.
Mayank impresses on debut
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was the pick of the bowlers for Chennai, picking two wickets. It almost turned out to be a perfect night for Punjab-born Mayank. The 20-year old scalped three vital wickets. He fits dismissed Rayudu (22), then trapped Dhoni’s pads and ended up picking Deepak Chahar’s stick.
With only ten domestic games under his kitty, Mayank didn’t look out of sorts. He kept his cool and successfully stopped the batters from going big. The spinner ended up with figures of 3/23 from his quota of four overs. But just when it looked like Chennai are out of the contest, Bravo played a match-winning knock of 30-ball 68.
Bravo turns the game on its head
He slammed sixes one after another and helped his side recover well. At one stage, Chennai needed 47 runs to win from three overs, but the all-rounder changed the scenario.
Bumrah went for 37 runs in his four overs while McClenaghan went for 44. It turned out to be a memorable comeback for the yellow brigade.
Whereas for Rohit’s side, it’s an early reminder of the cruelty and uncertainty of the T20 format. The promise shown by Mayank will inspire the Mumbai dug-out. And he will surely be in the scheme of things in the time to come.
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