MI had as many as six players donning the blue and gold jersey for the first time in our Tata IPL 2022 season opener against the Delhi Capitals on March 27th. 

Batters Tilak Varma and Tim David, all-rounder Daniel Sams and bowlers Tymal Mills, Basil Thampi and Murugan Ashwin all played their first match for MI. 

Let’s see how they fared. 

Tilak Varma 

The 19-year-old walked in at no. 4 for his Tata IPL and MI debut and was confident from the get-go. He played a few confident shots, including consecutive boundaries off Kamlesh Nagarkoti enroute his 22 off 15 balls.

It was a good performance on debut by the 2020 U19 World Cup star as he slowly rebuilt the innings with Ishan Kishan after a slight wobble.

Tim David 

Tim David scored 12 on his MI debut, hitting one six. The monstrous hit oozed class as he smashed one straight over Shardul Thakur’s head. 

He will play the important role of finishing the innings with Polly and we did see some signs of his ability. 

Daniel Sams 

The all-rounder first had a go with the bat, hitting a big six in the last over to help MI past 170.

Sams opened the bowling and bowled at different stages of the game. There were some nerves for the left-armer in his first game for MI. 

He adds a lot of value to the team balance and will no doubt have better games going ahead. 

Murugan Ashwin 

One of the stars of the night, leggie Murugan Ashwin delivered two crucial blows in his first over for MI. 

Brought in to bowl in the powerplay, Ashwin deceived the dangerous Tim Seifert with a googly before picking up Mandeep Singh with a full toss. He almost had Prithvi Shaw’s wicket too. 

Ashwin ended with figures of 2/14, the best figures of any MI bowler on the day. 

Basil Thampi 

A three-wicket haul on your MI debut is  a great way to begin! 

Like Ashwin, Thampi struck twice in one over - getting the important wickets of  Prithvi Shaw and Rovman Powell - before later picking up the dangerous Shardul Thakur.Thampi had figures of 3/35 and delivered whenever he was called upon. 

Tymal Mills 

Tymal Mills also had a good start to his MI career, as he picked up opposing captain Rishabh Pant in his very first over. 

Mills, along with Ashwin and Thampi, applied the brakes on DC’s scoring in the middle overs. He had figures of 1/26 in three overs. 

It was a decent start from all six debutants and we are sure they have more in store for us as the season progresses. We are excited to see what they can bring to the table! 

Who were you most impressed with in our first match, Paltan?