Punjab skipper Shikhar Dhawan tipped his hat to the 21-year-old Mayank Yadav, hailing the Delhi pacer’s remarkable consistency with raw pace during his IPL debut for Lucknow at the Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Stadium on Saturday.

On the other hand, Lucknow’s bowling mentor and cricketing legend Morne Morkel expressed elation witnessing his protege shine brightly in his maiden appearance in the lucrative league. Mayank’s impactful bowling performance played a pivotal role in steering Lucknow to a triumphant defense of their total of 199 runs, marking a successful start to their campaign in the IPL 2024 season.

Mayank Yadav pushes the game to next level

Mayank Yadav, who remained with Lucknow despite missing the entirety of the previous season due to injury, vindicated the team’s decision with a debut performance that will be etched in IPL history. The young fast bowler disrupted Punjab’s chase following a solid start provided by Shikhar Dhawan and Jonny Bairstow, who forged a 102-run partnership.

Mayank’s sheer pace troubled Bairstow in the 12th over, leading to the breakthrough that dismantled the opening stand, and he followed it up by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh and Jitesh Sharma.

Punjab were 88/0 after 9 overs 👏

Then, came Mayank Yadav 💥
10th over – 10 Runs
12th over – 6 Runs + Wicket
14th over – 8 Runs + Wicket
16th over – 3 Runs + Wicket

➡️ 4-0-27-3 & PBKS out of the game 🤐#MayankYadav #LSGvsPBKSpic.twitter.com/bc4SqhmN8p

— Richard Kettleborough (@RichKettle07) March 31, 2024

During his spell, Mayank recorded the fastest delivery of IPL 2024 at 155.8 kph in his second over, setting social media abuzz. Remarkably, his slowest delivery of the match clocked at 139 kph. While he conceded 10 runs in his initial over, where Dhawan and Bairstow struck a boundary each, Mayank quickly adjusted his lengths and line. He concluded with impressive figures of 3 wickets for 28 runs in his allotted four overs.

Pooran expresses his excitement for the bowling duo

Nicholas Pooran, when asked about the potential partnership between Shamar Joseph and Mayank, expressed enthusiasm and left the door open for the possibility during the tournament. Mayank’s lightning-fast delivery, clocked at 155.8 kmph during the match at Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, garnered praise from cricketing legend Brett Lee on Twitter. Lee hailed Mayank as India’s fastest bowler at present, even ahead of Hyderabad’s Umran Malik.

Pooran said, “Mayank Yadav does not know how to bowl slowly in the nets. I have faced him once in the nets. Kyle Mayers was telling me in training ‘he’s quick, he’s quick’. I am just happy that the management was able to give him an opportunity today. And I mean, he is going to be the talk of the town for the next couple of weeks.”

Shamar Joseph had previously made a significant impact during West Indies’ Test tour of Australia, notably in both matches where his remarkable performance led to a memorable victory for the West Indies on Australian soil.

“Everything is possible (Shamar Joseph and Mayank Yadav playing together). It depends on KL and the bosses. It will be wonderful. We have a really young bowling group, tonight was successful and there are a lot of learnings that we will take away from this game and there will be games where we will be put under pressure.

“In smaller venues, a lot of top edges will happen and there are the best batters in the world who will hit you for runs. As a group, we need to stay together and encourage the young fast bowlers. We need to comfort them, show them love and not criticise them when things go wrong for them,” he added.

See Also: Who is Mayank Yadav? IPL 2024 fastest bowler

In light of LSG’s youthful bowling contingent, Pooran cautioned fans and pundits to handle praise and criticism with care. He emphasized that Mayank’s performance, likely to be a topic of discussion in the coming weeks, should not be criticized on unfortunate or off days. With this victory, LSG now sit in 5th place on the league table, having accumulated 2 points.