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Follow UsThe sky was overcast. The ball was staying low. And West Zone had already lost two of their set openers - Priyank Panchal and Prithvi Shaw - in the first hour of play. There couldn't have been a better setting for a pacer to return to rhythm.
And Shivam Mavi was not going to waste that opportunity. First, he dismissed Suryakumar Yadav, then Sarfaraz Khan, and finally, Cheteshwar Pujara of all people. Mavi showcased his skills on either side of the lunch break in Alur, demonstrating the kind of performance that convinced the Central Zone selectors to entrust him with the captaincy responsibilities despite the presence of more popular names like Rinku Singh and Avesh Khan in the line-up.
However, it wasn’t the case a few days ago. The last few months were tough for Mavi. After making a surprising India debut in January, Mavi would have expected that to pave the way for better opportunities. Instead, he found doors slammed in his face. The presence of Mohammed Shami and the success of Noor Ahmed and Josh Little ensured that he warmed the bench throughout the IPL 2023 for Gujarat Titans. Furthermore, the El Nino effect of the summer added insult to injury, making practicing in North India a difficult proposition.
For a pacer as injury-prone as Mavi, not playing cricket for five months, despite being fit, was detrimental. It disrupted his rhythm and all he could do was wait.
“Even though I was not getting matches in the IPL, I was bowling 7-8 overs in the nets. I used to keep myself motivated during that time. In the last game [against East Zone], I didn’t find my rhythm in the first day but the next day, I was bowling well,” Mavi said at the end of day’s play.
Even in the quarterfinal match against East Zone, Mavi didn't have an easy time. In a low-scoring encounter, with Avesh Khan inflicting most of the damage among the pacers, Mavi was wayward. The victory for his team was more a result of East's disastrous batting rather than Central's excellence. However, against West, anything less than 100% could have been catastrophic.
After the dismissals of Priyank Panchal and Prithvi Shaw, with 43 runs on the board, the onus was on the impending troika of Cheteshwar Pujara, Suryakumar Yadav, and Sarfaraz Khan to take them forward. One would be foolish to underestimate their ability to turn the game around regardless of the conditions, but Mavi didn't allow them the freedom to do so. Yash Thakur, who had an impressive first spell, seemed slightly off-color in his return spell, but Mavi was impeccable.
Suryakumar Yadav's white-ball instinct kicked in as he walked across the crease to counter the away swing on offer. However, against a bowler like Mavi, whose line and length remain consistent in red-ball cricket, that decision was always going to backfire.
On the second ball of the 21st over, Surya edged one to second slip, but Vivek Singh dropped the catch, granting him a reprieve. However, multi-day matches are a cat-and-mouse game, and the one who can persist longer tends to emerge victorious. On the very next ball, another well-pitched delivery took off from the surface, catching the maverick T20 batter off-guard. This time, Dhruv Jurel, who had replaced Vivek Singh at second slip, didn't let West Zone recover. That was a captain leading from the front.
“In India, it is normally difficult for pacers to be captains. But we had excellent weather here in Bengaluru, so it wasn’t very tiring even when we bowled long spells. That helped me stay in the game and think strategically,” Mavi later said.
It's still uncertain whether Central can bring Avesh Khan back into the game after his collision with Rinku Singh left him severe pain as he walked back to the dugout. Scan reports have not been released yet, but from a distance, it seemed like a severe shoulder injury, most likely ruling him out of the match. His absence has increased the pressure on Mavi and Yash Thakur, but if the indications from the opening day are anything to go by, the young Uttar Pradesh player will rise to the occasion. Just like he did by getting the better of Atit Sheth towards the end of day's play to bring Central back in the game.
