Marco Jansen stood tall among the Mumbai Indians bowlers as the defending champions were beaten by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 on Friday, and I’m not talking about his 6ft 8in frame. 

Also Read | Harshal Patel: RCB’s wrecker-in-chief in IPL 2021 opener vs Mumbai Indians

The South African paceman took two key wickets in one over and was moderately economical throughout his four-over spell, showing potential to become a regular starter for the franchise this campaign and years to come. And with performances like these, the 20-year-old is also makig a strong case for himself to be picked up for the national side. 

Halfway through the chase, with skipper Virat Kohli (33) and marquee signing Glenn Maxwell (39) on cruise mode and scoring for fun, Jaspirt Bumrah stuck first to remove the former with the score at 98/3 from 12.3 overs. 

Also Read | IPL 2021: Rishabh Pant says will apply what he learnt from MS Dhoni in CSK encounter

In the very next over, Janses struck twice, dismissing Maxwell and Shahbaz Ahmed (1), to put Mumbai in the driver’s seat. 

However, a quickfire 27-ball 48 from %u2018Mr 360%u2019 AB de Villiers dragged RCB to victory. 

Jansen also bowled the final over the match, with the task of defending a meager 7 runs. And the youngster almost pulled it off, bowling a toe-crusher to de Villiers to start the over. However, He missed the mark with his next delivery, which Patel managed to dispatch and steal a quick double from. 

de Villiers’ run out in the 4th delivery wasn’t enough for Mumbai to steal the win, which was ultimately sealed in the final delivery by Patel. 

#IPL2021 #MarcoJansen #MumbaiIndians #RoyalChallengersBangalore