Ireland's Josh Little impressed many in his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) stint for Gujarat Titans (GT). However, Little had to leave IPL 2023 midway to boost Ireland’s chances of qualifying for ODI World Cup 2023. In his first match for Ireland since representing GT, Little made an impact straightaway. The left-arm pacer caught Bangladesh opener Litton Das off-guard with an in-swinging yorker that hit his front boot. The video has been making rounds on the internet.
Little dismissed Das for a golden duck in the first over of the innings at County Ground, Chelmsford. Das was also a part of ongoing IPL 2023. He represented Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in just one match before leaving midway due to national duty. Das did not have an answer to Little’s in-swinging yorker as he could not get his bat down on time.
Little troubled Bangladesh batters with the new ball. He conceded 24 runs in his first spell of four overs. He was expensive in the middle overs when Mehidy Hasan Miraz was new to the crease.
He was brought back into the attack in the slog overs by Ireland skipper Andrew Balbirnie. He got the big wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim with a short ball. Rahim wanted to play the upper cut but got caught by Stephen Doheny. The veteran batter had scored 61 runs from 70 balls. In the penultimate over, he dismissed Taijul Islam who scored 14 runs. Little conceded 61 runs from his full quota of 10 overs and picked up three wickets. He helped restrict Bangladesh for 246/9. Apart from Little, Mark Adair and Graham Hume picked two wickets each as well.
Little played a total of eight games for GT in IPL 2023. He picked up six wickets at an average of 39.67. He conceded runs at an economy rate of 8.21 runs per over. Earlier, in IPL auction, he was picked for Rs 4.4 crore after a bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). However, he is unlikely to get the full amount as he left the tournament midway. The payment will be made on pro rata basis.
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