India vs Sri Lanka 1st T20I: Shivam Mavi picks four wickets on his debut as India take 1-0 lead in the series

Mavi became the 101st Indian player to play in the T20Is. His former Kolkata Knight Riders teammate Shubman Gill also made his T20I debut.

But unlike Gill, who failed to make a huge impact on his debut and departed for just 7 runs, Mavi has risen to the occasion and has made a terrific start by picking up 4 wickets.

Shivam Mavi with a fiery start:

Shivam Mavi was handed the new ball by India skipper Hardik Pandya, and the youngster didn’t disappoint him. Mavi didn’t have the best start to his first over, as he was hit for two boundaries by Kusal Mendis.

But then he came back in an outstanding fashion. In the fifth ball of his first over, Mavi managed to do the ball talking off the pitch as it came in sharply. Pathum Nissanka got deceived by it and was bowled through the gate.

In his second over, Mavi showed resilience once again. He was hit for consecutive boundaries again by Dhananjaya De Silva, but the pacer managed to get the last laugh, as another top edge led to the dismissal of the batter.

Mavi picked up Wanindu Hasaranga in the middle overs as the debutant got this third of the night. He came in to bowl the 18th over under pressure and picked up his fourth wicket as Maheesh Theekshana fell while trying to clear the boundary. He conceded just 3 runs in his final over and finished his spell as 4-0-22-4.

Shubman Gill (7), Suryakumar Yadav (7) and Sanju Samson (5) all fell cheaply as the hosts made a stuttering start while batting first. Kishan and Hardik Pandya built a decent partnership but both of them were sent back to the hut and India were 94 for 5 at the 15th over.

But Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda turned the saviour for the home side. The pair amassed a 68 runs partnership off just 35 balls to take India beyond 160. Hooda finished as the highest run-scorer for India with his 41 off just 23 balls, while Axar Patel also used his long handle well (31 off 20 balls). India scored 162 off their full quota of overs.

Sri Lanka, in reply, showed glimpses of promise but fell short by just 2 runs, as they were bowled out for 160 runs. Apart from Mavi’s 4 wickets, Umran Malik and Harshal Patel picked up a couple each.