Twitter showers accolades on Mayank Markande after he bagged the Purple Cap

Prior to the eleventh edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Mayank Markande was ‘just another name’ in the cricketing world. Coming into the tournament, he only had only played six List A matches and four T20s for Punjab. Bearing his experience in mind, Markande wasn’t even expected to find a place in the playing eleven in a star-studded franchise.

However, Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians (MI) pinned faith on the youngster and he didn’t let his team down by any stretch of the imagination. The leg-break bowler churned out the prized wickets of Ambati Rayudu and Mahendra Singh Dhoni., which pushed the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on the back-foot. Subsequently, he churned out three wickets at a superb economy rate of less than run-a-ball.

A dream start for Markande

The 20-year old carried forward his form against the Sunrisers Hyderabad as well. Shikhar Dhawan and Wriddhiman Saha took the Sunrisers off to a blazing start. The required rate for Hyderabad was well within reach and Mumbai stared down the barrel for another defeat. Nevertheless, Markande had other plans in mind and he brought Mumbai back into contention with an exhibition of spin-bowling.

He nipped out the vital scalps of Saha, Dhawan, Manish Pandey and Shakib Al Hasan, which set the cat amongst the pigeons in the Hyderabad dugout. Though the home team managed to chase the target down, Mumbai definitely a positive from the game into the form of Markande. Also, with seven wickets in his kitty, he is the current holder of the Purple Cap.

Meanwhile, he has conceded a meagre 46 runs in his eight overs, which translates to awe-inspiring strike-rate (6.8) and average (6.57). Quite expectantly, accolades poured in for the leggie from every nook and corner of the world. From commoners to eminent personalities, everyone took to Twitter and shared their congratulatory message for Markande.

Here are the tweets