I had been visualizing my debut: Mayank Yadav opens up after his heroic performance against PBKS

Mayank Yadav, the 21-year-old fast-bowling talent, has announced his arrival in the Indian Premier League. The pacer from Delhi marked his IPL debut with a brilliant spell of 3/27 to come in the middle of Punjab Kings' run chase against Lucknow Super Giants. His pace and accuracy left batters struggling as LSG defended 199 and won the game by 21 runs.

Yadav's dream debut was the hard work that he had put in for several years. "For the last year and a half, I had been visualizing my debut, How my first ball would be, and how I'd manage myself with the ball in front of such huge crowds," said Mayank at the post-match press conference.

Stand-in captain Nicholas Pooran brought him to the attack in the 10th over when Punjab's openers Bairstow and Dhawan went strong at 88/0. What followed was a fast bowling masterclass.

Also read: Mayank Yadav was coming in there and getting high-quality players, beating them from pace: Stuart Broad

I love speed: Mayank Yadav

Clocking speeds over 145 kmph consistently, Yadav's first over went for 10 runs but he struck in his fourth delivery of the second over to get the wicket of dangerous Bairstow for 42. In his third over, he struck gold by dismissing Prabhsimran Singh as Punjab slipped from 102/0 to 128/2. 

Yadav's fired-up spell ended when he got Jitesh Sharma's wicket to reduce Punjab to 139/3. Though Punjab had some hopes through Liam Livingstone, the constant blows from Yadav had put LSG firmly in control.

"I love speed, not just in cricket but also in general life. Be it a plane, rocket or superbikes. So, I love speed," he added.

The youngster was delighted with his dream debut. "Everyone told me that there would be pressure and nervousness, but I honestly didn't feel that. When my captain gave me the ball, I felt from inside that I belonged straightaway and there was a lot of confidence," he said.

Talking about the support from the coaching staff, he said, "JL (Justin Langer) and Morne (Morkel) never told me to work with anything. They know that my pace with hard lengths is good. They just told me to keep plans simple, bowl quick on hard lengths, and attack the stumps as much as possible." 

Also read: Young Mayank Yadav bowled serious heat and got the wickets: Morne Morkel

Yadav's 3/27 made the difference between the two sides as Punjab fell short by 21 runs. For his outstanding figures, the right armer was named the Player of the Match on debut. Even Punjab Kings Head of Cricket Development Sanjay Bangar was impressed by the debutant's impactful performance.

"I thought we had a great start, credit to Mayank Yadav who came in and broke the back of our batting. He bowled fast, the lengths he bowled made it difficult," he said.