Alzarri Joseph was signed by Mumbai Indians as a replacement for the injured New Zealander Adam Milne. He did not get a chance to play as Mumbai Indians already had four overseas players in their playing eleven. It was because Lasith Malinga decided to travel to Sri Lanka to play in a domestic tournament that the opportunity to play for the Indians opened up for Joseph. The young Caribbean bowler responded by rewriting the IPL record books on debut.

Alzarri Joseph sets an IPL record of 6-12 on IPL debut Source

Mumbai Indians were floundering at 4 wickets for 63 runs when Kieron Pollard came in to bat at the fall of Krunal Pandya’s wicket with 11.4 overs gone by. Pollard in the company of Hardik Pandya (14 0ff 14 balls) and Rahul Chahar (10 off 7 balls) helped Mumbai Indians reach 136 for 7 in their allotted 20 overs. Pollard played an amazing inning scoring 46 runs not out off 26 balls. He hit 2 fours and 4 sixes during his tenure at the crease. But the score was below par for a strong Sunrisers Hyderabad batting line up and Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma knew that well.

Jonny Bairstow and David Warner of SRH has been the most successful opening pair in the IPL 2019 so far. But Rahul Chahar managed to get the wicket of Bairstow in the fourth over. Alzarri Joseph was asked to bowl the fifth over on his debut. He bowled a full-length delivery, just wide of the off stump to David Warner who decided to throw the kitchen sink at it. Warner just managed to edge the ball on to his stumps. Joseph had got a wicket with the debut ball that he bowled which is a record in the IPL.

Keiron Pollard's 46 runs off 26 balls helped Mumbai Indians put up a reasonable total Source

He finished that over as a maiden. In his second over he got the wicket of Vijay Shankar off a short ball. SRH were reduced to 42 runs for 3 wickets but were very much in the game needing another 95 runs off 13.1 overs. Joseph finished his spell with figures of 2 overs, 1maiden and 4runs for 2 wickets. He returned to bowl when SRH were 84 for 5 wickets and needed another 53 runs from 30 balls (6 overs) at an asking rate of 10.6 runs per over.

Bowling the 16th over, he got rid of Deepak Hooda and Rashid Khan off successive balls. While Hooda edged a fuller length ball on to his stumps, Khan tried to hook a ball but only managed to glove it for Joseph to take a simple catch. With Jasprit Bumrah taking another wicket in the subsequent over, SRH at 19 runs for 8 wickets, were effectively out of the chase needing another 46 runs from 18 balls.

Mumbai Indian teammates celebrate Joseph's record-breaking feat Source

Alzarri Joseph completed the formality of taking the last two SRH wickets in the 18th over, his fourth. He finished with figures of 3.4 overs, 1 maiden, 12 runs and 4 wickets. In doing so, he set another IPL record by bettering the record set by Sohail Tanvir 6 wickets 14 runs for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008, the inaugural year of the IPL. What a performance by the young West Indian whose presence in the IPL itself was circumstantial! He was first recruited in place of an injured Adam Milne and then included in the team to replace Lasith Malinga.