The 31-year-old top-scored with 68 off 45 balls to help his side clinch a 12-run victory in Dallas.

Chand, a Delhi-born batter, led India to Under-19 World Cup glory in 2012 but left his home country for the United States in 2021 to revive his career and international prospects. He crunched six fours and three sixes during his impressive innings, which accounted for over a third of his team’s score.

On his way to his first-ever MLC fifty, he took the attack to Afghanistan international Naveen-ul-Haq, smashing him for two fours and a six in successive deliveries in the fourth over of the innings after the Knight Riders lost their opening batters, captain Sunil Narine and Jason Roy, early.

Chand has struggled for form and consistency since making the move to the United States. Before yesterday, he only had a top score of 26 for Los Angeles Knight Riders in the MLC and was unable to make the cut for the United States squad that reached the Super Eights in the recently concluded T20 World Cup.

An impressive start in his team’s opening game gives him a platform to score heavily this season and make his international debut for the United States, over a decade after leading India to Under-19 glory.

Watch Unmukt Chand take Naveen-ul-Haq for 4,6,4 in Los Angeles Knight Riders’ opening MLC fixture:

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