"Mavi padh gaya sab pe haavi" - Aakash Chopra lauds Shivam Mavi's match-winning spell in 1st India vs Sri Lanka T20I

Aakash Chopra has lauded Shivam Mavi for delivering a penetrative spell in the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3.

The Men in Blue set a 163-run target for the Lankan Lions after being asked to bat first. Mavi then registered figures of 4/22 on his T20I debut as the hosts bowled out Dasun Shanaka and Co. for 160 to win the match by two runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was all praise for Mavi for bowling a game-defining spell, although he might not have been chosen as the official Player of the Match, elaborating:

"Two players made their debut - Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi. Mavi padh gaya sab pe haavi - four wickets on his T20I debut, a Player of the Match performance by a debutant, which is amazing, well done Shivam."

The former Indian opener praised the Uttar Pradesh seamer for bouncing back brilliantly after being struck for two fours in his first over, explaining:

"The danger signs in the run chase were that Shivam Mavi was making his debut, Umran Malik is still a rookie and there are chances of dew coming in later. Shivam conceded a couple of fours in the first over, it seemed he would get hit, but then he hit the ball on Pathum Nissanka's stumps."

Kusal Mendis hit boundaries off Mavi's second and third deliveries in international cricket. The right-arm seamer did not get disheartened and castled Pathum Nissanka with the fifth ball of the same over.

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"He has been picking up a lot of wickets and the advantage of that was seen" - Aakash Chopra on Shivam Mavi

Shivam Mavi has a peculiar bowling action. [P/C: BCCI]

Chopra feels Mavi's wicket-taking run in recent domestic white-ball tournaments held him in good stead, stating:

"The good thing about him is that he has pace, he has the ability to pitch the ball up and get sideways movement and came here in very good form. Whether you see the Syed Mushtaq Ali or Vijay Hazare, he has been picking up a lot of wickets and the advantage of that was seen."

The renowned commentator concluded by observing that the Gujarat Titans' (GT) recent acquisition delivered the goods despite the shortcomings in his action, explaining:

"He has a unique action because he looks upwards although you need to look towards the batter. So he does not have any idea what the batter is going to do, but despite that, he gives you a breakthrough and then another wicket in the form of Dhananjaya de Silva, a soft dismissal. He came back to take two more wickets."

After dismissing Nissanka, Mavi had Dhananjaya de Silva caught by Sanju Samson at mid-on in his second over. He later accounted for Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana's dismissals to complete his four-wicket haul.

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