He bowls fast, bowls straight, and more often than not hits the wicket. This is Umran Malik, one of the fastest-rising cricketers in India. The 22-year-old from Srinagar was at his brutal best on Sunday as Sunrisers Hyderabad dismissed Punjab Kings for 151 in match 28 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 in Mumbai.
Malik, a right-arm fast bowler, returned with figures of 4/28 in four overs, with three of those coming in the final over of the innings. In fact, that final over witnessed four wickets, with the last man getting run out.
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Malik thus became only the fourth bowler in IPL to bowl a maiden in the 20th over, after Irfan Pathan in 2008, Lasith Malinga in 2009 and Jaydev Unadkat in 2017. But Malik is the first to do so in the first innings.
During a mid-innings interview for the official broadcaster, Malik told Harsha Bhogle that he "In Jammu, it usually gets to 47 or 48 degrees, so the [Mumbai] heat doesn't matter. It's actually nice to play in this heat. I think I have got my line and length better, the plan's to keep it full and straight."
Veteran pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three wickets as Hyderabad pacers dominated a star-studded Punjab batting line-up.
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Shikhar Dhawan led Punjab Kings after captain Mayank Agarwal was ruled out due to a toe injury. Prabhsimran Singh replaced Mayank in the playing XI.
"Mayank injured his toe while training yesterday. He should fine be for the next game," said Dhawan at the toss.
Hyderabad captain Kane Williamson won the toss for a sixth successive time in IPL 2022.
Both Punjab Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad have won three and lost two each.
