Raghu SharmaAs he took the first wicket of his Indian Premier League career, his emotions and the burden of waiting for 15 years were clearly visible. Playing his second IPL match against Lucknow Super Giants, he got his first wicket by dismissing debutant Akshat Raghuvanshi for 11 runs.
Raghu shared his feelings after Mumbai Indians won the match by six wickets. Poignantly, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket after taking the wicket, revealing a heartfelt message reflecting his long journey and perseverance.
“It's like a dream come true for me that I got an IPL wicket for the first time. First of all, I just want to thank my gurudev, my spiritual guru. He is Mr. Shyam Das. And my mother and father for supporting me. I thought, if I take a wicket, I will definitely get that (note) out. I just want to thank Mumbai Indians because it has been a traumatic 15 years for me – how I started cricket and a lot of things in my life too.” “It happened,” Raghu told IPLT20.com.
“But today, by the grace of God, I have come here, and by the grace of MI, you can say I am very grateful to this franchise. They have supported me and believed in me. They have supported me too. They have sustained me. And now I am just making them believe that yes, I can do the same for them.”
Raghu's cricket journey began after being inspired by MS Dhoni's iconic World Cup-winning six in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup final. Interestingly, he started taking the game seriously only after the age of 18, making his achievement in the Indian Premier League even more remarkable.
LSG had a great start in the match and Mitchell Marsh attacked the Mumbai bowlers in the beginning. Josh Inglis lost cheaply on debut, but Marsh got strong support from Nicholas Pooran. Both of them added a quick 94 runs in just 35 balls and gave a strong platform to LSG. However, MI put up a good fight in the latter stages and restricted LSG to 228/5.
In reply, Mumbai openers Ryan Rickelton and Rohit Sharma got off to a great start with a partnership of 143 runs in just 65 balls. Rickelton scored 83 runs in 32 balls before leaving, while Rohit played a brilliant innings of 84 runs in 44 balls. Although LSG managed to pick up a few wickets, Naman Dhir and Will Jacks ensured that Mumbai chased down the target with ease and won with eight balls to spare.
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