South Africa’s IPL debutants make a quick impact, while Markram continues to shine

Corbin Bosch and Dewald Brevis have made an immediate impact for their Indian Premier League (IPL) teams in their first outings of the season.

For Bosch, it was a maiden showing in the IPL. He made his debut for the Mumbai Indians, playing alongside fellow South African Ryan Rickelton. Bosch, who made his One Day International and Test debuts in December last year, starred with bat and ball in his IPL debut.

Corbin Bosch and Ryan Rickelton have starred for the Mumbai Indians. (Photo: Indian Premier League)

He smashed a quickfire 20 off 10 deliveries to help his side to 215 for seven before bowling four overs, taking his first wicket, and conceding just 26 runs — operating in the death overs with bat and ball.

His contributions helped Mumbai Indians overcome Lucknow Super Giants by 54 runs.

“I’ve put in a lot of work in behind the scenes,” Bosch said about hitting the ground running after not being part of Mumbai Indians’ first nine matches of the season.

“I train long and hard for occasions like this so that when my opportunity does come, I try to take it as best as I possibly can, and [that day] was one of those days that just went according to plan.”

Brevis, meanwhile, was a lone standout for a struggling Chennai Super Kings in his first match for the men in yellow, after playing for the Mumbai Indians for the past three years.

The hard-hitting batter was a late replacement for the injured Gurjapneet Singh. Brevis smashed 42 runs off 25 balls against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, including one four and four sixes, before the Sri Lankan Kamindu Mendis dismissed him with a tremendous diving catch at long off.

Brevis has been in inspired form this year, but his team is unlikely to reach the knockout stage as they currently languish at the bottom of the table.

Leading from the front

Based on the showings in the IPL, South Africa’s T20 batting stocks are very healthy.

National team T20I skipper Aiden Markram is leading the way, after hitting four half-centuries in 10 innings this season for the Lucknow Super Giants. He is the 10th-highest run-getter overall with 335 runs.

Markram’s strike rate is trending towards 150. In his four previous seasons in the IPL he never struck above 140.

“You have to keep up with the trends of the game,” Markram said about adding more scoring options to his arsenal of strokes.

“I felt like I was falling behind a bit. [I started] training certain options and committing to that in the middle. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.

“You have to get on with the game now, especially with me playing a different role at the top of the order. I’m just trying to make the most of it.”

Batters starring

Heinrich Klaasen is 14th on the IPL run-scoring charts and Rickelton is 16th.

The pair of wicketkeeper-batters have been solid for their teams, rarely failing with the willow, each failing to reach double figures on only one occasion this season.

Although neither Rickelton nor Klaasen have been able to put together a string of high scores like Markram, Rickelton, batting with a strike rate of 152.51, has two half-centuries in 10 knocks for the second-placed Mumbai Indians, while Klaasen, with his usually destructive rate of scoring of 156.52, has hit only one in nine innings.

Despite the respectable performances by Klaasen, his team, the Sunrisers Hyderabad are second-last on the log, after making the final of the IPL last season.

Meanwhile, veteran Faf du Plessis, who has struggled with two injuries this season, has been solid when presented with the opportunity to get on to the field for the Delhi Capitals.

Faf du Plessis. (Photo: Indian Premier League)

Du Plessis struck a team-high 62 off 45 deliveries in his side’s 14-run loss to the Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday evening. It was his second half-century of the campaign in only his fifth innings. DM