Otago fast bowler Jacob Duffy's IPL debut could not have been more memorable.
The 31-year-old was awarded player of the match honours, as he and Indian great Virat Kohli led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to a commanding six-wicket victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday.
Duffy took three for 22 in his four overs in an impressive performance, just days after he won the Sir Richard Hadlee as New Zealand men's player of the year.
Duffy got into his work early, removing Hyderabad's openers Abhishek Sharma (7) and Travis Head (11) in quick succession.
Picked in the absence of Australia quick Josh Hazlewood, he also dismissed Nitish Kumar Reddy for one.
"I am just keeping the big fellow's (Hazlewood) seat warm," Duffy said.
"I just wanted to bowl the hard lengths, just keep the ball there... We talked about the lengths and stuff, what works here. Just build on what Josh did."
Despite Duffy's success, Sunrisers Hyderabad still cracked the 200 mark in their 20 overs, posting 201 for nine.
But RCB made light work of the chase, with Kohli stamping his authority early alongside local favourite Devdutt Padikkal.
The duo kept the scoring rate firmly under control, with Bengaluru posting 76-1 in the powerplay and wrapping up the chase in 15.4 overs.
Bengaluru made light work of the target as the opening pair punished Hyderabad's bowlers and exposed the void left by the absence of injured ace pacer Pat Cummins.
Kohli, who now features only in one-day internationals, was given a reprieve on 28 before making Hyderabad pay, scoring an unbeaten 69 off 38 balls, including five fours and five sixes as the home crowd roared on the team and chanted his name.
"Whenever I come back to play, it's 120 percent. I'm not coming back underprepared," Kohli said.
"As long as you're physically fit and you're excited mentally, all those things come together nicely and then you're able to contribute for the team's cause and that's what you want to do as a player. You don't want to hold on to a spot."
Padikkal was equally fluent, smashing seven fours and four sixes in his 61 off 26 balls, while captain Rajat Patidar added 31 to keep the runs flowing.
Bengaluru will look to build on their winning start when they host Chennai Super Kings at their home ground on April 5, while Hyderabad will play Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday (US time).
- RNZ and Reuters
