It was a performance that almost wasn't. Akeal Hosein might well have ended up a substitute rather than a match-winner for the Chennai Super Kings against the Mumbai Indians on Thursday night. He was among the reserves and came in as an Impact Player only because Sanju Samson held fort in the middle.
With wickets continuing to fall, the Chennai Super Kings may at one stage, have contemplated sending in Urvil Patel as the Impact Player. It was sheer providence that they did not, as Samson carried on with his swashbuckling ways. He hammered an unbeaten 54-ball 101.
Hosein made an immediate impact, striking in the very first over of the Mumbai Indians innings. He went on to claim three more batters to finish with a decisive 4/17, helping CSK beat MI by 103 runs.
"For me, it was just about trying to go out there and execute every ball to the best of my ability, and also to do what the team requires. I'm very happy to have such a performance and to contribute to help the team win at Mumbai Indians' home ground. So very happy with that performance," Hosein (32), the left-arm spinner from Trinidad, said.
Hosein is something of a specialist in bowling in the Powerplay. He opens the attack for the West Indies and did the same for the Chennai Super Kings on Thursday night. It was not easy with only two fielders outside the circle, but he followed the advice of Dwayne Bravo.
"One thing Dwayne Bravo said to me is that if you're going to get hit, at least get hit to the two fielders you have outside protecting the boundaries. So for me, it's about trying to stick to the team plan as much as possible and trying to bowl the best delivery to that particular batter at that point in time."
Hosein bowled two overs in the Powerplay and claimed a wicket in each - Danish Malewar first and Naman Dhir next. He turned the ball appreciably and extracted assistance from a pitch that was holding up a little. He says he tasted success after extensive research and information-gathering.
"I've been trying to pick the brains of the coaches and players on red soil, black soil - what it does and which deliveries work. I was pretty happy with how I went about it today because it can be a bit challenging if you don't adapt to the conditions quickly. Some deliveries come on a bit slower, and some surfaces react differently."
He went on to add the scalps of Hardik Pandya and Krish Bhagat to the tally and his effort was well complemented by spin twin Noor Ahmed, who ended with 2/23.
"So it's about trying to do your homework as quickly as possible. And yeah, bowling in the powerplay - we know it's scary when you have two fielders out - but it's also about being brave. The batters are going to come at you."
Apart from his turn, drift and accuracy, what stood out was Akeal Hosein's 'masked' celebration. He covered his face with his palm every time he claimed a wicket, and it instantly caught the eye.
"Everybody seems to have their own mask. Noor has one, and a couple of footballers have theirs. So I just chose this one to be my mask - nothing too much behind it. It's just about celebrating small victories. Whenever you do well and get a wicket, or when your teammates get one as well, you just try to enjoy that moment, and that's exactly what I've been doing," he said after Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians by 103 runs.
Hosein would have been in contention for the POTM award but Samson's dashing century overshadowed his bowling. "There must be some sort of assessment being made, and I thought Sanju and a couple of the top-order batters did that very well in particular. You could see Sanju batting through to the end. When some might have thought he slowed down or stepped off the gas in the middle phase, he knew that as long as we had a set batter there, he could explode at the end - and that's exactly what he did. Kudos to him, a brilliant hundred."
Given the strong batting line-up they possess, MI were expected to mount a serious challenge to the CSK total of 207 for six. Instead, they collapsed for 104 in 19 overs. Hosein said he was not surprised by MI's meek surrender. "Cricket is played on the day, not on paper. And when you go out as a bowling unit and execute as well as we did today, there's nothing surprising about seeing the opposition make such a score. It's just about singing the praises of the bowling unit."
