Indian pacer Mayank Yadav joined an exclusive club following his impressive T20I debut for India against Bangladesh in Gwalior.
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.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav 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.
Former quick Ajit Agarkar and his compatriot Arshdeep Singh previously entered the special club, before Mayank, by bowling a maiden in their first over in the shortest format of cricket.
Agarkar became the first Indian to achieve the feat in 2006, during India’s clash against South Africa in Joburg. Left-armer Arshdeep was the second Indian to achieve the feat during India’s clash against England in Southampton in 2022.
