Defending a lowly total of 97 against the Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings pacer Mukesh Choudhary stunned the opposition home crowd at the Wankhede with a staggering new-ball spell, bowling four overs on a trot and finishing with figures of 3/23, wiping out three of MI’s top five.
CSK needed a strong start with the ball, and Choudhary, the left-arm pacer who was sensational with a Man of the Match performance against MI in their previous meeting, struck straightaway – on the fifth ball of the first over he had Ishan Kishan edging through to MS Dhoni, dismissing the left-handed MI opener twice in two games.
MI skipper Rohit Sharma, though, decided to take down Choudhary despite the prodigious swing and seam movement he was getting from the pitch and the conditions. Sharma struck two fours in Choudhary’s second over which went for 10.
However, CSK pacers didn’t drop their shoulders. Simarjeet Singh nipped out Rohit Sharma with a beautiful length delivery. Mukesh Choudhary came storming back in his third over. First a sharp inswinger did Daniel Sams for good, trapped lbw, the Australian did go for a review but it was crashing into the sticks.
Two balls later, IPL debutant Tristan Stubbs suffered the same fate as Sams, given out lbw to an inswinging delivery. Stubbs didn’t opt for a review as he realized he was plumb in front of the stumps.
Dhoni continued with Mukesh Choudhary for another over, his fourth in a row looking for another wicket in this low-scorer, but MI youngsters Tilak Varma and Hrithik Shokeen saw him off. Choudhary got a loud endorsement from commentator Ian Bishop as he completed his spell, keeping CSK alive in the game and their playoff hopes.
Choudhary now has 16 wickets in 11 matches. In the absence of the injured Deepak Chahar, the left-arm seamer has taken up the mantle to take wickets in the powerplay; so far Choudhary has taken 11 wickets in the first six overs, the most by a bowler in the tournament so far.
Twitter was ablaze by this fiery opening spell from Mukesh Choudhary and Simarjeet Singh.
Here are some of the best reactions to Mukesh Choudhary’s thunderous new ball spell vs Mumbai:
This is fantastic from Mukesh Chaudhary
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 12, 2022
Mukesh Chaudhary 20 lacs rs taken the wicket of Ishan Kishan 16 cr rs#CSKvMI
— sunil the cricketer (@1sInto2s) May 12, 2022
What a response by CSK and this bowler Mukesh Chaudhary!!
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) May 12, 2022
#csk in Next Season
Dipak Chahar & Mukesh Chaudhary in powerplay
— MSDIAN FOREVER (@Akshay_MyName) May 12, 2022
Mukesh Chaudhary is the new Lord
— chunsuk_phangdu (@ChunsukPhangdu) May 12, 2022
Mukesh Chaudhary has been the find of the season for CSK. He can do exceptionally well with Deepak chahar from next season.#CSKvMI
— Apoorv Kalla (@Apoorvk18) May 12, 2022
After this season of IPL, BCCI will definitely call Mukesh Choudhary for Playing For Team India! pic.twitter.com/xPjHVagVfR
— Anjali Mahi:) (@imAnjalii718) May 12, 2022
Also Read: IPL 2022: Fans React Hilariously After DRS Was Denied To Devon Conway Due To Powercut
