In the first Twenty20 international, the stumps of Sri Lankan star batsman Pathum Nissanka were rattled by debutant Shivam Mavi’s terrific delivery

When Hardik Pandya presented Shivam Mavi with his first international cap prior to the first Twenty20 international match against Sri Lanka, no one could have possibly guessed what would happen the next day.

The young pacer, who had everyone’s attention during his U-19 days but then struggled with injury, picked up four wickets for 22 runs as India defeated Sri Lanka by two runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. India now has the upper hand in the series, which will be decided in the second match.

This is the third-best bowling performance by an Indian player in their first Twenty20 International, behind only Barinder Sran (4/10 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2016) and Pragyan Ojha (4/21 against Bangladesh in Nottingham in 2009).

The Sri Lankan team undoubtedly possessed the firepower necessary to chase down 163, but Mavi’s strikes at the beginning and finish of the innings tipped the balance of the game in favour of the host team.

Hardik Pandya, who is the captain of the team, made the decision to bowl the first over, and the pressure that he created assisted the rookie Mavi at the other end. In his three overs, Hardik allowed only 12 runs, despite bowling at full speed and giving up very little in the way of runs scored.

Mavi’s moment to remember occurred in his first over, when he struck back with great coolness after being blasted for two fours by Kusal Mendis. This was a moment that Mavi would always remember.

Pathum Nissanka was unaware of Mavi’s magnificent delivery that slashed back in to smash the stumps because she had already gotten a life in Hardik’s first over before it was her turn to bat.

Even in his second over, Mavi was hammered for a couple of fours before getting Dhanajaya de Silva caught at mid-on. Dhanajaya de Silva was the batter who was caught.

The spinner Axar Patel was able to protect 13 runs in the final over of the game, which caused the match to come down to the wire. Mavi finished with the impressive statistics of four wickets for 22 runs in four overs.

Both the skipper Dasun Shanaka (45 runs off 27 balls) and Chamika Karunaratne (23 not out off 16 balls) put up a valiant fight, but their efforts were in vain as Sri Lanka was bowled out for 160 in 20 overs.

At the Wankhede Stadium, this is the lowest total that India has ever defended.