IPL 2018, MI vs CSK: A day to remember for uncapped players

The opening match of IPL 2018 featured as many as five uncapped players. This match provided ample opportunities for these players to showcase their talent and they grabbed it with both hands.

Whenever the situation was tough, the youngsters stepped up and helped their team come out on top. As the motto of the IPL says "Where talent meets opportunity", plenty of opportunities was available for these talented players and they made the most of it.

We look at the impressive performances from these five uncapped players.

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#1 Krunal Pandya

The uncapped superstar of Mumbai Indians, the ever-so-consistent, Krunal Pandya stepped up again when the situation demanded. Coming in to bat in the 15th over when Mumbai were scoring at under 8 runs an over, he played a vital knock.

Krunal hit the IPL debutant Mark Wood for two boundaries and a six in the 19th over and ended up with an unbeaten 22-ball 41 which was crucial for Mumbai Indians to reach a defendable total.

#2 Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav steadied Mumbai's ship

Suryakumar Yadav, better known for his finishing abilities, walked out to bat in a tricky situation. Mumbai Indians had lost both their openers with just 20 runs on board. Yadav mixed caution with aggression and played some lovely strokes early on.

After steadying the ship, he took the attack to CSK’s number one bowler, Dwayne Bravo, and hit him for a hat-trick of boundaries in the 12th over of the innings. By the time Suryakumar Yadav was out, he had scored a brisk 29-ball 43, thereby laying the foundation for the MI big hitters to go berserk at the end of the innings.

#3 Ishan Kishan

The wicketkeeper-batsman who played for Gujarat Lions last season scored a brisk 29-ball 40

Another youngster who joined hands with Suryakumar Yadav when the score read 20-2 and played a gritty knock was Ishan Kishan. This 19-year-old lad from Patna, who was expected to open the innings, showed immense maturity and played sensibly at the start.

Once Imran Tahir came in to bowl in the 11th over, Ishan took on the leg-spinner and hit him for 14 runs of the first 3 balls of his spell thereby upping the ante for the Mumbai Indians. His 29-ball 40 helped the Mumbai outfit to recover from the disastrous start and post a decent total.

#4 Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar was fantastic with his out-swingers

The 25-year-old pacer from UP opened the bowling for his new franchise, Chennai Super Kings. Playing just his 6th IPL game and opening the bowling in front of a vociferous crowd, Deepak Chahar would have definitely felt the nerves.

But none of it were on display when he bowled his first delivery, a superb out-swinger to the Mumbai Indians captain. He continued to bowl accurately throughout his spell in the power-play overs and ended up conceding just 14 runs off his 3 overs accounting for the wicket of the dangerous Evin Lewis for a duck.

Deepak Chahar looked a class apart in his first game for CSK. Along with his fantastic out-swingers, he possesses decent pace and looks like a bright prospect for the future.

#5 Mayank Markande

The leg-spinner was impressive in his debut IPL game

The surprise selection of the evening was this young leg-spinner from Punjab. Mayank Markande, who hasn’t played any first-class cricket till now, came in to bowl in the 7th over of the innings and immediately dismissed the in-form Ambati Rayudu with a googly.

He later accounted for the huge wicket of MS Dhoni with another googly which was a death blow to Chennai Super Kings. He ended up with impressive figures of 3-23 in his quota of 4 overs.