IPL 2018: Mayank Markande's miraculous start to IPL career

IPL 2018: Mayank Markande’s miraculous start to IPL career

By B Dixit - Apr 12, 2018 5:52 pm

During the seventh match of the 11th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians at Hyderabad, Mayank Markande continued from where he left off against Chennai Super Kings at Mumbai in the season opener.

The 20-year old leg break bowler from Bathinda bettered his figures from his debut match as he picked up his maiden four-fer in the IPL in only his second match. Just like in the match against Super Kings, Markande’s spell brought his team back into the match on several occasions. Additionally, he picked up wickets when his team desperately needed them in a bid to defend a lackluster total.

Markande was introduced into the attack right after the powerplay finished. In only his first over, he found Wriddhiman Saha (22) wanting in front of the stumps to give Mumbai Indians their first wicket. The rookie bowler then got the prized scalp of Shikhar Dhawan (45) in his second over.

Mayank Markande has had a brilliant start to his IPL career.

If he tempted Dhawan to play a big sweep, he brought Manish Pandey (11) out of his crease as he unsuccessfully slogged a delivery only to send it high into the sky. Captain Rohit Sharma pouched the catch as Markande got his third wicket. By the end of this over, his figures read 3-0-20-3.

Citing his ability to pick up wickets at regular intervals, Rohit Sharma did not shy back from bowling him out at one go, something you don’t watch very often in a T20 match. In his last over, Markande had given just three runs on the first five deliveries. Perhaps, the Sunrisers were looking to see his overs through and score against the other bowlers.

In a situation where the opposition batsmen had decided to not commit any mistake, it was the brilliance of Markande which earned him his fourth wicket. The last delivery of his spell was a googly bowled to Shakib Al Hasan (12), which the Bangladeshi all-rounder failed to read. As a result, Shakib ended up dragging the ball back to the stumps. The Sunrisers were reduced to 107-5 in 13 overs.

Markande ended up impressing one and all yet again. His bowling figures of 4-0-23-4 is his individual best in T20s. The way he has bowled in his first two matches, it appears as if he is well-prepared for the IPL. An experiment which the Indians made in the first match is likely to continue throughout this season.

Here is the video of Saha’s dismissal: