Mayank Yadav says first-ball wicket against Zimbabwe summed up his two-year comeback journey

India pacer Mayank Yadav described his first-ball wicket against Zimbabwe as the perfect end to a challenging two-year injury journey. Returning after a 21-month lay-off, he claimed 2/18, earned Player of the Match honours and helped India secure a seven-wicket victory

Harare:India fast bowler Mayank Yadav said dismissing Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett with the very first ball of the opening T20I felt like the perfect conclusion to the long and difficult road back from injury, describing the moment as one that ‘summed up’ the previous two years of his career.

Making his return to international cricket after a 21-month injury lay-off, Mayank struck with his opening delivery and finished with figures of 2-18 to claim the Player of the Match award as India defeated Zimbabwe by seven wickets at the Harare Sports Club. His spell, along with Prince Yadav’s 2-19, restricted the hosts to 125/7 before Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s record-breaking 18-ball fifty powered India to a comfortable victory and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

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Reflecting on the emotional significance of the opening-ball wicket, Mayank admitted it instantly made the long wait worthwhile. “So these two years, it was a long, long time, eagerly waiting to play again in Blues. I think today when I took a wicket in the very first ball, it summarised everything from two years, so it feels great now. It was very tough, but at the same time, what I feel, it was very important for me also,” he said in a video posted by the BCCI.

The 24-year-old also revealed that a disappointing IPL season, where he went wicketless, had dented his confidence, but conversations with senior players helped him regain belief in his own strengths.

“I was just thinking that I just have to back my skill, I have to back my strength, that’s it. Because in IPL, I didn’t have a very good season. That was the first time in like many, many years that I didn’t get any wickets.

“But after that, I had a chat with a lot of players. So they have only told me one thing: just keep backing your strength, keep believing in yourself. So that is the only thing I was just thinking about before that first ball.”

Mayank also paid tribute to the three people he credited for helping him through his recovery, which included his mother, his sister and trainer Rajni, whom he first met at the Centre of Excellence in 2024.

“Three people are there: my mum, my sister and my trainer, Rajni sir. Met him in 2024 for the first time at the COE. I think he is the person who understands me and understands my body very well.

“Somewhere I am stuck, so I just go to him and just ask, like, how should I go about it or what are the things I can do better. Now when I see, like when I am playing again, I just want to perform every day for those three or all the efforts. Try to give all the efforts to those people.”

Despite his match-winning spell, Mayank admitted that his biggest emotion after the game was relief.

“More, it’s relief because, like after a very long time, the expectation is a lot with me. Keeping pressure on myself, so now I have got these two wickets, I have got the performance. So that is a big relief for me.

“I am very happy that I am back in the team; I am playing again. It’s a very mixed emotion for me,” he added.