The Sunrisers Hyderabad thwarted a late comeback from Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday night, registering a 23-run win over Nitish Rana’s men in Kolkata. Batting first, the KKR posted a mammoth score of 228/4 in 20 overs and the Knight Riders, who were reeling at 96/5 at one point in the run-chase, staged a brilliant comeback thanks to captain Nitish Rana (75) and Rinku Singh (58*). However, the target eventually proved too big for the duo as SRH registered a much-needed win in the season.
One of the star performers for the side was spinner Mayank Markande, who picked two important wickets of Narayan Jagadeesan (36 off 21 balls) and power-hitter Andre Russell (3). In a match that saw a combined total of 433 runs being scored, Markande conceded at an economy rate of just 6.75, registering impressive figures of 2/27 in four overs.
The 25-year-old leg-spinner has now found an admirer from across the border in Rashid Latif, the former captain and wicketkeeper-batter of Pakistan. Latif was impressed with Markande’s pace in the air and even compared him with Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan, who is currently the top-ranked bowler in the shortest format of the game.
“Remember that name, Mayank Markande. He has pace, he is fast through the air. Ravi Bishnoi is good, but he hasn’t succeeded in giving the ball that loop in the air. This guy is a Rashid Khan-type of bowler with a different angle. Batters had difficulties reading his googly. We will see him in future as well. I haven’t seen him play that much, but I saw him bowl yesterday and I think in two years time, he can be a great bowler,” Latif said on his official YouTube channel.
Markande has played in two games for SRH this year so far but has been brilliant in both; in his first game of the season against Punjab Kings, Markande registered brilliant figures of 4/15 in four overs.
