West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph enjoyed a dream Indian Premier League debut for Mumbai Indians on Saturday after returning best-ever figures of 6/12 in the Twenty20 tournament.
The 22-yer-old, who joined the Mumbai squad in place of the injured Adam Milne of New Zealand, bowled a maiden in 3.4 overs to help his team thrash hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad by 40 runs.
Joseph went past the previous best bowling effort of Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL’s inaugural edition in 2008. “It’s a dream start, can’t get better than this. I just wanted to bowl to the plans. When they said I was playing, I decided to keep it simple and back myself,” Joseph said.
“When I got my first wicket, I had a muted celebration since I was focused on the game that we had to win. The boys are really playing well, lot of hard work, so all we need to do is go to the park and show them what we can do.”
Chasing 137 for victory, Hyderabad were dismissed for just 96 in 17.4 overs with Deepak Hooda top-scoring with 20.
Joseph got the in-form David Warner of Australia for 15 on his very first ball. It was a fuller length delivery from Joseph that the left-handed Warner dragged on to his stumps.
His stunning effort left cricket Twitter spellbound, adding to the list of Caribbean players who have taken the IPL by storm.
Huge win for MI. SRH not only difficult to beat at home but had also looked best team in the tournament. Not quite so when Warner-Bairstow don’t fire and Williamson’s not playing. Two wins on the trot gives MI the momentum needed. And in Alzarri Joseph, a new star!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) April 6, 2019
Some wonderful things happening with West Indies cricket this season. Add Alzarri Joseph’s sensational IPL debut to that.👏👏👏🙏🙏🙏🙏#SRHvsMI
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 6, 2019
6/12 on debut in 3.4 overs. OMG Alzarri Joseph. Just 2 months back this guy played a test match when he lost his mother. And today this guy has setup IPL on fire just in his debut becoming the BEST IPL FIGURES BY A BOWLER beating Sohail Tanvir's 12 year old record. Hats off.
— arfan. (@Im__Arfan) April 6, 2019
SRH prepared for Bumrah , Alzarri Joseph came out of syllabus 😭 #SRHvMI
— Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRai) April 6, 2019
If Andre Russell’s 48*(13) chasing 205 yesterday was special, Alzarri Joseph’s 6/12 defending only 136 is arguably one better! The men from the Caribbean continue to light up the IPL so brilliantly. #SRHvMI
— Ajesh Ramachandran (@Edged_and_taken) April 6, 2019
Alzarri Joseph is absolutely fantastic ... The West Indies are coming back ... Love it for the World game ... #IPL2019
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) April 6, 2019
🤷🏾♂️ called it
— Carlos Brathwaite (@TridentSportsX) April 6, 2019
We are watching the Caribbean Premier League in India!!!
— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) April 6, 2019
Alzarri Joseph 6/12. For a generation of Indian cricket fans that was always about a Kumble special. #HeroCup
— Siddhartha Vaidyanathan (@sidvee) April 6, 2019
Alzarri Joseph turns up from the other end of the world, bowls fast, and produces a match winning performance for his team. What a debut.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) April 6, 2019
What a dream debut for Alzarri Joseph 6/12. He hasn’t played a T20I yet for West Indies and what a beginning he has has in the IPL. The West Indies’ players continue to create an impact. #SRHvMI
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 6, 2019
Alzarri Joseph registers the best bowling figures of 6/12 in #VIVOIPL history.
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) April 6, 2019
Take a bow, young lad 🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/J1A7TPJimz
Alzarri Jospeh earning himself an invitation to the next Ambani wedding
— Gappistan Radio (@GappistanRadio) April 6, 2019
(With inputs from AFP)