Mustafizur Rahman equips CSK with left-arm versatility

Mustafizur Rahman has the gift of a supple left wrist. The ability to flick it at the very last moment before releasing the ball and disguising it in his usual bowling action has been bread and butter for the Bangladesh quick over the last eight years.

Just short of 12 months after arriving at the international stage, Mustafizur made it to the IPL and unleashed his fast cutters on unsuspecting batters and took home 17 wickets in a title-winning season with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. On Friday, Cameron Green got a taste of it. Yet, the majority of what he did in the season opener wasn't about the flexibility of his wrist.

Earlier this year, CSK raised the baton for the Bangladesh pacer who'd bowled a grand total of seven overs - for 79 runs and a wicket - in last year's IPL for Delhi Capitals. But his form for Bangladesh has been consistent enough for the last 15 months for the deal - worth INR 2 Crore to CSK - to be typically shrewd business from a franchise with the growing reputation of being able to maximise even the most limited and over-the-hill cricketers. It also looked like CSK found a bowler meant to run in and utilise the tacky surfaces on offer at Chepauk.

Beyond the obvious perception of a specific skill being married into suitable conditions, Mustafizur brought what CSK dearly missed all of last season - a left-armer's angle. Even at their absolute worst in 2022, CSK believed they'd unearthed a potent left-arm pace option in Mukesh Choudhary, who through the season earned Dhoni's attention and praise.

"Once they've got that experience, what is important is next year once they turn up for the IPL, they shouldn't start from scratch again," Dhoni had said of his debutant bowler, raising expectations of him for 2023. But that was spent on the sidelines due to a stress fracture, and in came another left-armer - 20-year-old Akash Singh - as replacement. He played six games for middling results and didn't last the squad culling before the auction this year. So, Mustafizur's arrival didn't just come because of the magic he could conjure when pitches in Chepauk are slow, but because he ticks another vital box, as he showed while sucking the life out of RCB's top-order on Friday.

Ruturaj Gaikwad had Deepak Chahar, Tushar Deshpande and Maheesh Theekshana bowling with a fine leg and third man outside the circle in the PowerPlay, but they then became deep point and deep square leg for Mustafizur. The left-armer's angle and his persistence to keep hitting the good length brought immediate success. Du Plessis's knack for clearing out his front leg for room and going aerial on the off-side was tested with a ball that was going away from his off-stump, and he caved by taking a chance with a big shot that was well-caught by Rachin Ravindra. Rajat Patidar got an angled across delivery at 135kmph that he couldn't not nick behind, while his feet stayed rooted to the crease.

When Mustafizur came back for his second over in the 12th, Virat Kohli was looking to consolidate the stand he'd started to construct in the company of Cameron Green and push the needle of the scoring rate a little further. The simplicity of the angle and the line away from the off-stump worked once again in Mustafizur's favour, as Kohli holed out to a combined effort from Ajinkya Rahane and Ravindra at deep midwicket. Only his fourth wicket - of Green - was a trademark cutter pitched outside leg stump with away turn that the Australian didn't anticipate while making room and trying to play the cut shot.

"This was a very good pitch. It is not the usual slow Chepauk turner that we are probably visualising in our mind," Dinesh Karthik said. "The ball skidded on a lot more, it was good for batting. He [Mustafizur] bowled really well. What makes it tough is the fact that he can bowl at 138-139 kmph and then he has a slower one which is really deceptive. He bowls it at 120-125, which makes it really hard to line him up. That's what is so special about him. He's a world class bowler."

Mustafizur's four wickets came in his first 10 balls, and he went on to finish with figures of 4 for 29 - second only to Shadab Jakati's 4 for 24 from 2009 among IPL debutants for CSK. His inclusion in the opening game of the season may have been incidental - due to Matheesha Pathirana's injury - but the ability to produce moments even in un-Chepauk like conditions adds a layer to CSK's decision-making once the Sri Lankan is fit and available.