"Promising young talent with good pace" - Fans hail Shivam Mavi for dream debut against Sri Lanka 

Shivam Mavi made his dream debut for India in the first T20I against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, January 3. The seamer looked brilliant, returning with figures of 4/22 as the Men in Blue won the game by a narrow margin of two runs.

The 24-year-old took a couple of wickets in the powerplay after skipper Hardik Pandya handed him the new ball. He also removed dangerous-looking all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga before getting rid of Maheesh Theekshana to complete his four-wicket haul.

With impressive figures, Mavi has also joined Barinder Sran and Pragyan Ojha on the elite list of Indian bowlers who scalped four-for in their debut T20I.

Fans expressed their delight as India unearthed a quality seamer. They want Mavi to be consistent in the long run as the hosts continue to search for dependable pacers.

Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

In the post-match show, he expressed gratitude for representing Team India after six years of hard work. He told Star Sports:

“The landing zone was a little slippery. Was waiting for six years after playing U19. Had to work hard in those six years - got injured as well. For a while it looked like my dream will remain a dream. But I kept at it.

"Having played the IPL, the nervousness is a little less. My idea in the powerplay is to attack and get them out. Favorite dismissal was the first one, getting him bowled.”

Mavi was recently bought for ₹6 crore by the Gujarat Titans (GT) after a bidding war with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of IPL 2023.

So far, he has picked up 30 wickets in 32 IPL games while representing KKR from 2018 to 2022.

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Shivam Mavi shines as India beat Sri Lanka in a nail-biter

A clinical bowling performance from Shivam Mavi helped India bundle out Sri Lanka for 160 in 20 overs. Umran Malik and Harshal Patel also bagged two wickets each.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka top-scored for Sri Lanka with 45 runs. Kusal Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, and Chamika Karunaratne also chipped in with useful contributions.

Axar Patel defended 13 runs off the last over. Karunaratne (23*) raced away with the game, but he failed to hit four off the last ball.

Earlier, Sri Lanka made early inroads after winning the toss to leave India struggling at 46/3 in 6.5 overs. Ishan Kishan (37) and skipper Hardik Pandya (29) bailed the Men in Blue out of danger. Deepak Hooda (41* off 23 balls) and Axar Patel (31* off 20 balls) then helped India post a respectable total of 162/5 in 20 overs.

Dilshan Madhushanka, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Karunaratne, Dhananjaya de Silva, and Wanindu Hasaranga took one wicket each.

The two Asian teams will next lock horns in Pune on Thursday, January 5.