IND vs SL: Shivam Mavi shines on debut as India clinch last-ball thriller

Mavi took four wickets to kick off his international career, and registered 4/22.

By Vaishnavi Thiagarajan Iyer

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Shivam Mavi
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Shivam Mavi. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Sri Lanka looked very determined to win the opening fixture, but little did they know about the abilities of the Indian all-rounders, and the young debutant Shivam Mavi. Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Mavi dominated the game for the Men in Blue. 

Winning the toss, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka put India to bat first. Opening batter Ishan Kishan provided the Men in Blue with a terrific start as he notched up 17 runs in the first over, including two fours and a maximum. Just when it looked like the opening duo of Kishan and Shubman Gill had got going, Maheesh Theekshana got Sri Lanka the first breakthrough and dismissed the debutant.

Suryakumar Yadav started well with a boundary, but could not capitalize on the momentum and ended up giving away his wicket cheaply to Chamika Karunaratne. As a result, India could manage to score 41 runs in the powerplay while losing two wickets. Sanju Samson too could not leave an impact and was dismissed for a six-ball five-run score.

Skipper Hardik Pandya played a decent innings. He started off well by sending the ball towards the fence on regular basis, but the Sri Lankan bowlers kept the Indian batters under control and restricted them from going big, and dismissed Kishan in the process. It was then the partnership between spin-bowling all-rounders Axar Patel and Deepak Hooda that helped India get to a defendable total.

Hooda hit Theekshana for two sixes in the 16th over, and then one off Wanindu Hasaranga’s delivery in the 17th, which helped India take leapfrog massively on the scoreboard. Patel then took charge with the bat and notched up some boundaries and a huge maximum to keep India’s scoreboard ticking. Thanks to their heroics and the 68-run stand, India finished at 162/5 at the end of 20 overs.

Sri Lanka and India put up a nail-biting thriller

India had a task ahead of them as defending 163 runs against the Asian champions was not easy. But debutant Shivam Mavi drew first blood when he picked up his maiden international wicket by dismissing Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka. The youngster struck again in his next over and picked up the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva as Sri Lanka ended their powerplay at 35/2.

Just when Charith Asalanka got going, Umran Malik sent him packing, courtesy of Ishan Kishan behind the stumps, who ran miles towards fine leg to complete a brilliant catch. Harshal Patel claimed a wicket in his very first over when he dismissed Kusal Mendis and added to India’s celebration by dismissing Bhanuka Rajapaksa next.

All-rounders Wanindu Hasaranga and Shanaka posed a threat to Indian bowlers as they went for the big shots, putting the hosts in trouble. Even after Mavi dismissed Hasaranga, Shanaka kept hitting the big shots. Umran malik ultimately put an end to his carnage. But the show was dominated by Mavi, who picked up his fourth wicket of the day to register 4/22 on debut.

Sri Lankan batters carried the ‘never give up’ attitude and took the game deep. It came down to the final ball of the final over when the Lankans needed just four runs to win and Axar had a huge responsibility. Giving away a wide and a maximum in the final over, Axar finally managed to defend the score and helped India to win the game by the barest of margins, just two runs.

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India vs Sri Lanka 2023IndiaSri LankaShivam MaviAxar PatelDeepak Hooda