Murali Kartik handing T20I debut cap to Mayank Yadav© BCCI/Sportzpics
Indian pacer Mayank Yadav enthralled cricket lovers as he made his T20I debut against Bangladesh in Gwalior on Sunday. After Mayank's potential breakout season in the Indian Premier League was lost to injury, the 22-year-old stepped onto the crease in India colours for the first time. He was handed the debut cap by former India spinner Murali Kartik, who is working in the series as a commentator. Kartik, however, later highlighted India head coach Gautam Gambhir's brilliant gesture, in asking him to be the one handing Mayank his debut T20I cap.
"What a memorable day for this Speed Merchant #MayankYadav ..it took me back 25 yrs when I received my cap from Sachin& Kapil paaji... A touching moment for me personally to be asked to present the cap by @GautamGambhir ...a wonderful gesture," Kartik posted on X (formerly Twitter).
What a memorable day for this Speed Merchant #MayankYadav ..it took me back 25 yrs when i received my cap from Sachin& Kapil paaji... A touching moment for me personally to be asked to present the cap by @GautamGambhir ...a wonderful gesture pic.twitter.com/dqwONnPPzA
— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) October 7, 2024
India's T20I captain Suryakumar handed the ball to the young tearaway in the final over of the powerplay. Mayank set his eyes on the opportunity to blow Bangladesh away and delivered a maiden over with his sheer pace and precision.
As Towhid Hridoy failed to garner a single run in the youngster's over, Mayank became just the third Indian cricketer to bowl a maiden in his first over in the T20I format.
Mayank made waves in his debut with his pace and added a wicket to his name while giving away 21 runs in his four-over spell at an economy of 5.20. As he sent thunderbolts down with his pace, Bangladesh's experienced all-rounder Mahmudullah became his first T20I victim. After warming himself up in his first over, Mayank brought heat to Gwalior with a scorching 146.1kph delivery.
The pace itself was enough to confuse the experienced star. He danced around the crease, tried to slice the ball and lofted it straight into the hands of Washington Sundar at deep point.
Mayank added to an all-rounder performance from the Indian side and helped the hosts seal a 7-wicket win in the series opener. Bangladesh folded on 127, and India breezed past Bangladesh to chase down the total with a handful of overs to spare.
With ANI inputs