XtraTime Web Desk: Two-time Indian Premier League champions, Chennai Super Kings made a sensational start to their campaign in this season’s IPL after two long years against the defending champions Mumbai Indians last night at the Wankhede Stadium. Everyone is talking about veteran Darren Bravo’s magical knock, but the unsung hero of the game was the home team’s debutante leg spinner Mayank Markande. His name was barely heard before the IPL 2018 started, but after last night his name is in everyone’s mouth.
But who is this young lad Markande? Former Mumbai Indians wicket-keeper batsman Ambati Rayudu was well set at the crase when Markande came to bowl. He bowled two back to back leg-breaks to a well-set Ambati Rayudu, and then suddenly bowled a flat googly to trap Rayudu leg-before, but it was just the start. Just after two deliveries, his googly hit Kedar Jadhav on the pad. Umpire didn’t give a leg-before wicket. MI skipper Rohit Sharma didn’t take a review, but the camera showed that the ball would have hit the leg stump.
In his next over’s third delivery Markande’s googly did the trick yet again as he got the big wicket of CSK skipper MS Dhoni. After his appeal umpire Gaffaney didn’t raise his hand, and this time Rohit asked for a DRS and the decision went in favour of MI. On that point of time his bowling stat was 1.3-0-4-2.
After that he got a bit hammering from Kedar Jadhav and Dwyane Bravo. Later he picked his third wicket by having Deepak Chahar stumped with the last ball of his quota, and finished the spell with 3 for 23 in 4 overs which is second best by any Mumbai bowler on debut. Despite the batsmen hit him for sixes, he was not in fear and kept tossing the deliveries, which is a very good sign of a wrist-spinner.
Before last night’s performance a very few people knew his name. Markande’s journey in cricket is very much unconventional. At the start of his career he was a fast bowler and his specialty was back of the hand slower ball.
Later his coach understood that his slower delivery was nothing but a googly, and young Markande soon evolve as a leg-break bowler. On debut for Punjab U16 team he picked 7 wickets and not only that he also picked 11 more wickets in next two matches in the 2013-14 season.
When Markande was 16 years of age, he made his U19 debut for Punjab. At one stage he was almost lost from the cricketing circuit, before he made his debut in 50 and 20 overs format this year. His performance was not that much impressive, but his skills amazed Mumbai Indians scouts.
Markande was featuring an U23 game when the Mumbai Indians franchise bought him for INR 20 lakhs.