INDvSL: Best bowling figures on debut for India in T20I cricket

India won their first match of the INDvSL T20I series by 2 runs. In fact, this was their first win of 2023 which is said to be one of the most important years of this decade. Hardik Pandya-led Indian team defeated Sri Lanka in a closely fought match which was decided in last ball of the game.

It was Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel who made all the impression in the first inning for India with the bat. But, in the second inning, it was debutant Shivam Mavi who stole the show with the ball in hand. With his four wickets, Shivam Mavi now has equalled the second-best bowling figure by a debutant for India in T20Is in the ongoing INDvSL series.

Mavi did look nervous in the first few balls of his international career but managed to pull everything off after that. The right-arm quick pacer from Uttar Pradesh had to wait 6 years after winning the ICC U19 World Cup to don the senior team's jersey. Mavi made sure all that wait was fruitful for him and all of his fans.

In the recently concluded IPL 2023 auction, just before the INDvSL series, Mavi was picked by the Gujarat Titans for a whooping INR 16 cr, which was a record for an uncapped Indian player in the auction.

Best bowling figures on debut for India in T20I cricket

#1 Barinder Sran - 2016 - 4/10

The left-arm pacer from Punjab played only two T20Is for India after injuries forced him out of the Indian squad for a long time now. However, Sran made sure he made his mark in those limited opportunities he got in the blues of India.

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In his debut T20I match against Zimbabwe at Harare, Saran took 4/10 in his full quota of 4 overs and bagged the "player of the match award" on his debut T20I match. Sran sent 4 of the top five Zimbabwean batters to the pavilion to restrict the opponents to less than a hundred (99/9).

#2 Pragyan Ojha - 2009 - 4/21

Pragyan Ojha was the first Indian bowler to pick up a four-for in his T20I debut. The slow left-arm orthodox bamboozled Bangladeshi batters in the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup at Nottingham. Hence, Ojha was adjudged "player of the match" for his 4/21 in that match.

Junaid Siddique, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Mahmudullah Riyad and Masrafe Mortaza were the victims of Ojha's spin and drift. In fact, the wicket of a dangerous-looking Junaid (41 off 22) made sure India win the Group-A match comfortably by 25 runs.

=2 Shivam Mavi - 2023 - 4/21

In the first match of the 2023 INDvSL T20I series, Shivam Mavi became only the third Indian bowler to pick a four-for on his T20I debut. Mavi already had experience in playing Indian Premier League for six seasons. After a great domestic season for Uttar Pradesh, he was called for the Indian team in absence of senior pacers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

Mavi repaid the faith of the selectors by taking 4/21 in Mumbai and helped the team gain a 1-0 lead in the series. Pathum Nissanka, Dhananjaya De Silva, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana were the Lankan batters who could not handle the pace and bounce of the new pace bowling star of India.