Mumbai Indians (MI) spinner Mayank Markande made a dream debut against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the opening match of Indian Premier League 2018. The leg-break bowler scalped three wickets and gave away just 23 runs in his quota of four overs. Among his three victims, Markande picked a prized wicket of CSK captain MS Dhoni. The spinner, who trapped Dhoni in front of the wickets in the ninth over of the match, has said that it was a big deal for him. “"For me, it was a big deal to dismiss MS Dhoni!” Markande told Mumbai Indians official website.  IPL 2018 Points Table

“Never thought so much would happen in my life. Earlier I had 2,500 followers on Instagram, now it leaped to 21,000 in no time. The coaches had indicated that I could be playing the first match, So I should be prepared. But there was no confirmation about it. Then in the team meeting it was confirmed that I will be making a debut, and then everyone appreciated me”, added Markande.

Following his debut, Markande took to Twitter and expressed gratitude in one of his posts. “I was 10 years old when IPL began a decade ago. From the dream of playing in the tournament to making a dream debut, I have cherished every moment of my journey. Thank you @mipaltan for giving me the opportunity. Gutted with the result but we can turn it around,” he tweeted.

Interestingly, on the day of auction Markande was busy playing a U-23 game for Punjab and only got to know about his selection later. “On match days, you are not allowed to use your phone at the ground. But when I finally switched it on in the evening, I had 37 missed calls and 300 messages,” he told Mumbai Indians website earlier.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 09, 2018 04:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).