MI vs RCB in IPL 2021: 6ft 8 inch Marco Jansen shines on Mumbai Indians debut
MI vs RCB in IPL 2021: 6ft 8 inch Marco Jansen shines on his debut for Mumbai Indians- South Africa pacer Marco…
MI vs RCB in IPL 2021: 6ft 8 inch Marco Jansen shines on his debut for Mumbai Indians- South Africa pacer Marco Jansen bowled brilliantly with the ball in his opening match of IPL 2021. He gave away just 28 runs in his quota of 4 overs and took two wickets. It included 9 dot balls. He received his cap from MI skipper Rohit Sharma in the opening match against RCB. The defending champions had signed the 6 feet 8 Inches for a base price of Rs 20 lakh.
Mumbai Indians (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Chris Lynn, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan(w), Hardik Pandya, Kieron Pollard, Krunal Pandya, Rahul Chahar, Marco Jansen, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah
The youngster said his mission, three-years ago, was to make it to the varsity first team but never thought of playing in IPL 2021.
MI vs RCB- Marco Jansen claim to fame – he at the nets in 2018 kept beating India’s captain Virat Kohli with his pace.
“I actually can’t believe it, if you think of it like that,” Marco says. “To be honest, three years ago my brother and I were talking about playing for the varsity first team and never even thought about IPL. So to be where I am today, I’m very blessed and honoured. It’s really a privilege,” he said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
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Zaheer Khan, the director of cricket operations for the franchise, said that they were expecting a bidding war for the bowler. Akash Ambani, Team owner, Mumbai had been tracking Marco for the last two years and decided to sign him for IPL 2021.
IPL 2021: How did Marco come into spotlight?
In early 2018, Indian skipper Virat Kohli batted at the nets of Wanderers Stadium ahead of the Johannesburg Test. It is there the 6ft, 8inch kid beat zen-like focussed Kohli three-times in a row outside off stump. It was followed by a “well bowled” praise from the Indian skipper.
This was three years ago, and this time in the most elite league in the world, he might once again face Kohli, who will be leading Royal Challengers Bangalore.
“I’m 6ft 8in. At the start of this year, I went for testing in Pretoria and they had a speed gun there. I think my average speed was about 137-138kph. My top speed was 141.2 or 141.3.
“I just have to get in a jump, because I’m quite thin for my height, so I must get a little bit stronger. The goal is to try and get 140-plus as my average speed. That must be the main reason why they [Mumbai Indians] looked at me. And that I can also middle it a little bit [with the bat] as well. I’m not going to say anything more on that (chuckles), but yeah, I can hit the ball,” he said, reported ESPNCricinfo.
IPL 2021: Mumbai Indians signs Marco Jansen, the 20-year-old pacer who beat RCB’s Virat Kohli
IPL 2021 Mumbai Indians squad: Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Chris Lynn, Anmolpreet Singh, Saurabh Tiwary, Aditya Tare, Kieron Pollard, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Anukul Roy, Jasprit Bumrah, Trent Boult, Rahul Chahar, Jayant Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohsin Khan, Adam Milne, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Piyush Chawla, James Neesham, Yudhvir Charak, Marco Jansen, Arjun Tendulkar.
