Jasprit Bumrah
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah on Sunday became the sixth player to appear in the 100th IPL game for Mumbai Indians (MI) as the defending champions took the field against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the UAE leg opener.
Bumrah, who has seen a meteoric rise since joining the Mumbai outfit, flaunts an impressive bowling record in the IPL, having plucked 115 wickets so far including two four-wicket hauls. The 27-year-old speedster also became the fifth player in the IPL to play 100 games for a franchise.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Dwayne Bravo also entered the 100-game club as he became the fourth CSK player after MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja to mark a three-figure appearance in the yellow jersey.
As fans witnessed the resumption of IPL 2021, skippers MS Dhoni and Kieron Pollard made their way to the middle for the toss. Chennai won the toss and elected to bat first against Mumbai, who were without regular skipper Rohit Sharma. MI all-rounder Hardik Pandya also missed out, making way for Anmolpreet Singh in Playing XI.
100 or more matches - all for one IPL side:
- 199 - Virat Kohli (RCB)
- 171 - Kieron Pollard (MI)
- 124 - Sunil Narine (KKR)
- 122 - Lasith Malinga (MI)
- 100*- Jasprit Bumrah (MI)
Dhoni said that the pitch at Dubai looks better and setting a target would be a better option. For Chennai, all-rounder Sam Curran was unavailable due to the mandatory hotel quarantine period.
"Seven games, then a break, and seven more. It comes down to how you play on that day in the shortest form. We'll try to do the basics right and focus on the process. Sam is not available. Faf, Moeen, Bravo and Josh are playing the game," said Dhoni after winning the toss.
CSK Playing XI: Faf du Plessis, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Moeen Ali, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (captain and wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar and Josh Hazlewood
MI Playing XI: Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Saurabh Tiwary, Krunal Pandya, Kieron Pollard (captain), Adam Milne, Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult
