Young pace bowlers Shivam Mavi and Umran Malik combined to lead India to a two-run victory over Sri Lanka in the opening Twenty20 game at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.
The 24-year-old Mavi was making his debut and the 23-year-old Malik was playing his fourth T20. Getting a chance to play only because original choice Arshdeep Singh wasn’t fit, Mavi made the difference by picking up wickets every time India needed. The UP pacer claimed four wickets for 22 runs and Malik two for 27 runs to star in India’s victory.
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel ensured the duo’s heroics was not in vain when he held his nerve to defend 13 runs in the last over.
Defending just 162 runs, on a flat wicket with short boundaries and battling the dew factor, the pressure was on the home team. But the young pacers were equal to the task. Sharing the new ball with captain Hardik Pandya, Mavi had a dream start when he picked a wicket in his first over, clean bowling Pathum Nissanka. He got another in his second over by getting Dhananjaya de Silva in a first spell of 2-0-17-2.
When India came under pressure after a big over (17 runs) off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, Pandya called up Mavi for the 15th over. He got the breakthrough by inducing a false shot from Wanindu Hasaranga with a slower one to reduce Sri Lanka to 108/6 after 14.3 overs. Mavi gave away just three runs for figures of 3-0-20-3 at that stage.
However, at the other end, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka was playing a blinder. With the game still in the balance, the India skipper turned to Umran Malik for the 17th over. After being hit for a six by Shanaka (45 runs, 27 balls), the express bowler produced a 155kph thunderbolt on his fourth ball of the over to have the batter caught at cover.
To cap a fine debut, Mavi gave away just three runs and picked the wicket of Maheesh Theekshana in the 18th over to reduce Sri Lanka to 132/8. The good work of the two left Chamika Karunaratne too much to get in the last two overs.
Earlier, put in to bat, India huffed and puffed to a total of 162/5. It was a tough evening for the new-look batting side. Asked to fill in the big shoes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, they had their sixth wicket of Deepak Hooda to thank for bailing them out.
After being tied down at 94/5 in 14.1 overs, Hooda and Patel came to the team’s rescue. They added 68 runs off just 35 balls in their unfinished partnership. Deepak Hooda hit 41 not out (23b, 1×4 4×6) and Axar Patel 31 not out (20b, 3×4 1×6).
Hooda broke the shackles imposed by the spinners at the start of the slog overs. He clobbered two sixes of the in-form off-spinner Maheesh Theekshana off the 4th and 5th balls of the 16th over to take 17 runs, following it with another six off Sri Lanka’s main strike bowler, Hasaranga.
Axar Patel helped collect 15 runs from the 19th over bowled by impressive left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka with a six and a four. Hooda finished the innings strongly with two boundary hits off pacer Kasun Rajitha, a six down the ground and a four to third man.
Before coming under a bit of pressure towards the end of the innings, Sri Lanka’s spinners’ early work was impressive with the ball gripping the surface. After opener Ishan Kishan attacked new-ball bowler Rajitha to kick start the proceedings with 17 runs, Shanaka introduced spin in the third over. It worked as Theekshana set the tone by getting the wicket of debutant Shubman Gill. With Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson also falling in quick succession, it was left to Ishan Kishan, Pandya, Hooda and Axar Patel to lift the innings.