India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20: Shivam Mavi stars in India win, claims THIS huge RECORD on debut

Young medium pacer Shivam Mavi claimed 4/22 and became the third Indian men’s cricketer to take four wickets on T20I debut during the first match of the three-match series against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Tuesday (January 3). Riding on Mavi’s four-wicket haul, India held their nerve to sneak in a two-run win over Sri Lanka in the first T20I in Mumbai on Tuesday night.

The young pacer, who was bought by Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans at the IPL 2023 mini auction, picked up two wickets in the Powerplay – sending back Pathum Nissanka and Dhananjaya de Silva to start his debut on a fine note. Alongside skipper Hardik Pandya, Mavi gave India a good start with the ball as the visitors managed just 35 runs in the first six overs.

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The right-arm quick returned to break a crucial 40-run stand, dismissing Wanindu Hasaranga (21 off 10 balls) in the 15th over to leave Dasun Shanaka with a huge task on his hand. He went on to add a fourth scalp in his final over with the wicket of Maheesh Theekshana to become one of the only three bowlers for India to take four wickets on men’s T20I debut.

Mavi finished with figures of 4-0-22-4, joining the likes of Barinder Sran and Pragyan Ojha as the only three men’s players to take four wickets on the T20I debut for India. Sravanthi Naidu has also taken a four-wicket haul for India on her debut in women’s T20Is.

“I was waiting for this moment for the last six years. I had injuries in between and it felt my dream will never come true. Nerves were 3-4 on a scale of ten because you know what to expect when you have played the IPL. The first wicket was my favourite,” Mavi said after the match.

In the first T20I, Shanaka’s late burst gave Sri Lanka a sniff at chasing down the target, but when Umran Malik sent him back with a 155 kph delivery, India seemed to have edged ahead. Chamika Karunaratne brought the tourists back with some late fireworks and they were left chasing 13 runs in the last over. Axar Patel conceded a six, but held his nerve as India won by two runs to go 1-0 ahead in the three-match bilateral series.

(with IANS inputs)