Debutant Shivam Mavi’s 4 wicket haul and fast bowler Umran Malik’s thrilling 155 kph delivery along with Deepak Hooda’s unbeaten 41 runs helped India turn the game to their side on Tuesday at Delhi. With a 2-run win over Sri Lanka, India marked a 1-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.
Earlier in the game, India was in a spot of bother by losing early wickets. But a combined effort of the young side makes it possible to amaze the opponents with a small margin win.
Sent to bat first, India faced a top-order collapse by losing three quick wickets. Ishan Kishan made a quick start but lost his partners Shubhman Gill (7 of 5), Suryakumar Yadav (7 of 10), and Sanju Samson (5 of 6).
It was Gill’s T20I debut alongside Shivam Mavi. He began his innings with an amusing cover drive, but he was not succeeded. Playing the first game in the home crowd, Suryakumar perished cheaply by trying his usual scop shot. Sanju Samson also wasted another opportunity, caught by Dhananjaya de Silva.
Kishan went out in the 10th over, scoring 37 runs. Skipper Hardik Pandya also made a fast start but got only 29 runs. An exciting 68-run stand for the 6th wicket between Deepak Hooda (41 off 23 balls) and Axar Patel (31 off 20) turned the game for the side as India reached 162 runs in a five-wicket loss.
The Lanka spinners bowled really well in the match. All of them have got a wicket each except Kasun Rajitha who was very expensive, giving away 47 runs in his 4 overs.
With an easy target to chase down on a tacky surface, Lankan batters never really looked to be in control. They lost wickets at regular intervals as no one really made up to the line. Wicketkeeper-batsman Kusal Mendis scored 28 runs and later Dasun Shanaka launched a counterattack. He has scored 45 runs off 27 balls and turned the game for the Lankan side. But Umran Malik ended his run chase in the 16th over.
Indian debutant Shivam Mavi exploited the Lankan batters well as he hauled 4 wickets in the first game itself. The 24-year-old young pacer was waiting for his debut for almost 6 years.
Skipper Hardik Pandya’s bowling in the first over helped Mavi at the other end to a stress-free game. Hardik bowled full tilt and hardly gave anything away in his 3 over spells. Mavi showed his excellence in the first over itself by sending Pathum Nissanka back even though he was hit for 2 fours by Kusal Mendis.
In his second over also, Mavi got hit for a couple of fours, but he caught Dhananjaya de Silva.
Hasaranga and Shanaka made the game interesting with a 40-run stand of 23 balls. Hasaranga put smashed back-t-back sixes over Yuzvendra Chahal and put the pressure back on the Indians. He reduced the equation to an easy gettable 56 runs off 36 balls.
Then Mavi get back to break the threatening partnership and caught Hasaranga at mid-off. Then Shanaka kept the side single-handedly, but he also falls in the hands of Umran Malik in the 17th over.
With his unbeaten 41 runs, Hooda was adjudged Man-of-the-match.
The young Indian pacer Umran Malik has made a record in the match with his super impressive fast bowling. With his 155 kph delivery, he broke the record of Jasprit Bumrah for clocking the highest speed among the Indian pacers. The 23-year-old is now compared with Pakistan’s pacer Shoaib Akhtar.
