On a day when two bowlers – Samuel Badree and Andrew Tye – picked up hat-tricks and Kieron Pollard played a special knock to guide Mumbai Indians to victory, it was a tough choice to select the best player of the day.

In the end, Tye gets the honour for April 14 after his superb showing with the ball in what was his first ever match in the Indian Premier League [IPL].

Replacing Jason Roy in the Gujarat team, the 30-year-old Australian got a wicket in his first over, dismissing Rahul Tripathi who was looking set for a big score. He followed that up with another scalp in his second over, removing the dangerous Ben Stokes who got off to a good start.

But Tye’s best came in the final over of the Pune innings, when he registered the 16th hat-trick in the history of the IPL. He showed some great variations to get rid of Ankit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, and Shardul Thakur off consecutive deliveries.

Tye was, unsurprisingly, named the Player of the Match for his splendid bowling figures of 5-17.

The bowling part of the Lions’ team seemed to be a bit of a weakness this season, but if Tye is able to carry on performing like this, expect the Suresh Raina-led side to make a serious push for the playoff spots.

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