MATCH STORIES
Follow UsMS Dhoni and Chennai Super Kings have a penchant for resurrecting careers. Whether they have a magic wand or it is a case of pure coincidence is a thing to ponder. However, with the growing sample size each year, it looks like magic wand is the answer. After all, coincidences also come with a limit.
Mustafizur Rahman, the left-arm medium-pacer from Bangladesh, is the latest addition to the never-ending list of players finding their best in CSK.
Just look at his IPL stats heading into the tournament. In his maiden year as an X-factor in Sunrisers Hyderabad, he was a breakout star, picking 17 wickets at 24.8 runs apiece and maintaining an economy of 6.9. In the subsequent five seasons, he was nowhere close to replicating that brilliance.
Consequently, Rahman was not much in demand at the 2024 IPL Auction. No team bid for him except CSK who fetched him at his base price of INR 2 crore.
The consensus was that he is a backup for Matheesha Pathirana, CSK’s rockstar during the death overs last year. And Rahman is quite a perfect replacement for Pathirana. The generally sluggish pitches at the Chepauk make Rahman’s cutters a force to reckon with. CSK recognized that and signed him at his base price.
No other bids?? Thank you they must have said.
CSK’s farsight has paid them off in the first game of the 2024 season itself. Pathirana is unavailable due to injury, allowing Mustafizur Rahman to slot right in.
Royal Challengers Bangalore, or rather Faf du Plessis, got off to a flier, scoring seven boundaries in the first four overs. RCB were flying at 37/0 in four overs when Mustafizur was summoned for his first over.
At the end of Fizz’s (as he is known worldwide) first over, RCB were 41/2, scoring only four and losing two wickets in that over. Rahman had du Plessis and Rajat Patidar (for a three-ball duck) in his pocket. It was the first blow from CSK and it came at the hands of their debutant. And it is the first time Fizz has picked two wickets in the powerplay in an IPL game.
In his second over, the 12th of the innings, he dismissed the other two important links of the RCB batting - Virat Kohli and Cameron Green in another over with twin strikes. RCB, already in a free fall, fell from 76/3 to 79/5. After two overs, he had figures of 4/7. He achieved it by staying away from the fuller lengths.
A 95-run stand between Dinesh Karthik and Anuj Rawat elevated RCB to a total of 173. However, without Fizz’s two overs of twin strikes, it could have been a much bigger total given it is a decent batting track as Karthik told the broadcasters after the end of the first innings.
Rahman finished with figures of 4/29. The other two pacers - Deepak Chahar (1/37) and Tushar Deshpande (0/47) - were much more expensive.
It is too soon to say that CSK have already revived Rahman’s career. But it is a terrific start and playing for a new franchise after a few glum years, the left-armer must have felt like he is making his debut again in this league. And with his performance today, you never know if he will leapfrog Pathirana as CSK’s first-choice overseas medium-pacer.
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