24-year-old Vignesh Puthur from Kerala, almost helped Mumbai Indians beat Chennai Super Kings in their IPL 2025 season opener. He took 3/32 dismissing CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shivam Dube and Deepak Hooda and played his part for MI in the contest.
It was due to Puthur's spell of 3/32 that MI were able to push CSK till the final over in a chase of 156. He weaved his magic aroud the CSK middle-order and no one could understand his varioations.
After MI posted 155 with the bat, defending the total was always a tough job. Chennai playing at home had a better knowledge of the conditions with MS Dhoni working as the mastermind behind it.
However, Puthur came in as a surprise for MI. he first dismissed CSK skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad in the 8th over and broke a 67-run partnership between him and Rachin Ravindra. Then he dismissed Shivam Duve who tried to hit big against him and was caught at the boundary line. Deepak Hooda also fell to him trying to play an expansive sweep shot. Puthur made it a big day for himself as he was praised by Thala Dhoni after the end of the game as well.
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Who's Vignesh Puthur
Vignesh hails from Malappuram, Kerala. His father, Sunil Kumar, is an autorickshaw driver, and his mother, K.P. Bindhu, is a homemaker.
Vignesh moved from Malappuram to Thrissur to chase his dream to become a cricketer. He initially started as a medium pacer in college-level cricket before transitioning to spin bowling later in his career.
Vignesh grabbed eyeballs, while playing for St Thomas College in Thrissur, where he pursued a Master of Arts in Literature. His performances for the Alleppey Ripples in the inaugural edition of the Kerala Cricket League brought him into the spotlight. He also had a stint in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. At 23, he is yet to play for the Kerala senior team and has landed himself a big IPL contract with Mumbai Indians. MI roped him in for 30 lakhs ahead of the auction. Puthur was part of the MI Cape Town training camp in the SA20 before he became a part of Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
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Paras Mhambrey spoke about how Puthur was selected into the XI for the CSK game. he said that the likes of Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav could not read the young spinner and included him in the XI as an element of surprise. The trick almost worked as he bettered Noor Ahmed's heroics but his team did not end on a winning note. Puthur came in as an Impact Player and made a big impact on the match.
"I think when Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav] and Tilak Varma, all these guys batted against him, they felt it wasn't that easy. So [that was] one of the reasons we felt we had the confidence of pushing him in this game" Mhambrey said.
Also Read: Watch: MS Dhoni melts hearts with adorable gesture for MI debutant Vignesh Puthur
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