CHENNAI, India, CMC – West Indies batting star Shimron Hetmyer made a wretched start to life in the Indian Premier League here yesterday when he made a two-ball ‘duck’ as his Royal Challengers Bangalore crashed to a seven-wicket defeat to Chennai Super Kings in the season-opener.
Entering at the fall of South African AB de Villiers’s wicket at 38 for three in the eighth over, the 22-year-old Hetmyer was nearly run at the striker’s end before facing a ball, after being called through for a sharp leg bye by Parthiv Patel.
The left-hander then blocked the first ball he received from veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh but then pushed the next delivery to short cover and set off for an impossible run, and was beyond the point of no return when the bails were removed.
Hetmyer was picked up by RCB for US$596 000 in last December’s draft, one of several West Indies players along with Carlos Brathwaite, Nicholas Pooran and Oshane Thomas, to land lucrative contracts.
Playing at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, RCB were dismissed for 70 in the 18th over to record the sixth lowest total in IPL history, with South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir (3-9) and Harbhajan (3-20) finishing with three wickets apiece.
Only Patel, with 29 off 35 balls, reached double figures before he was last out, holing out to square leg off former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
In reply, CSK made a meal of their run chase before getting home with 14 balls to spare, with opener Ambati Rayudu top-scoring with 28.