Match-winning show by unretained players for the new franchise

Teams often rely on their core of retained players for match-winning performances. However, the opening week of IPL-18 saw unretained players making a big impact for their new franchises on debut. Spin bowling all-rounder Krunal Pandya (3-29), who played for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last season, was named Player-of-the-Match on his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against hosts Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the tournament opener. On Day Two, top-order batter Ishan Kishan marked his debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) with a century (106 not out off 47 balls) against Rajasthan Royals (RR), while Afghanistan wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad turned the match in Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) favour with figures of 4-18 against Mumbai Indians (MI). On Monday, lower-order batter Ashutosh Sharma took Delhi Capitals (DC) to victory from a near-impossible position with his quickfire 66 not out off 31 balls against LSG. Shreyas Iyer led from the front in his maiden match for Punjab Kings (PBKS) with an unbeaten 97 off just 42 balls against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Tuesday.