For the second time in as many IPL matches, the unheralded Mayank Yadav turned heads with a speed gun-breaking spell. Aadya Sharma, present at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, writes on the joy of watching India’s newest sensation live.

You can be certain Mayank Yadav loves his hair. He keeps playing with it, brushing it diagonally with his palm, smoothing the cloud of hair sticking out like Tintin. Swipe, swipe. He doesn’t wear a cap or a hat: maybe he doesn’t want the mop to lose its fluff. 

He wipes his brow with his bicep, briskly walks up to his spot in the outfield, and blankly stares into the middle. It reminds you of those geeky school kids gaping at the blackboard from the front seat. On first look, nothing suggests the inkling of a 95mph hustler.

That very tuft bounces around when Mayank – suddenly fuelled by some mystical power – is galloping to the crease, the shiny blue strips of jersey No.8 flickering under lights. The first part of his run-up is rushed, before those pumping legs find their gear. There he goes, bursting into a sprint, the motion raw but elegantly athletic.

By the time he leaps, he’s gushing with force. 

Blur. Repeat.

It’s taken two matches for a little-known boy from the West of Delhi – the land of Virat Kohli – to become the wrecking ball of IPL 2024. Along the way, he’s making speed guns creak.

At the Chinnaswamy Stadium, Mayank did not cross paths with his fellow Delhiite, but conjured such thrilling, popcorn-munching stuff that you just couldn’t take your eyes off him. For us Indians, the 150kph barrier has been best reserved for immensely built overseas wonders, barring an exception or two. 

Here’s Mayank Yadav to shake you out of those outmoded thoughts.

You can see how fidgety Mayank is when he stands at his bowling mark. Could be nerves, could be the eagerness to bowl: he restlessly tosses the ball up and adjusts his sleeves. Faf du Plessis sends him back for a false start, still readying himself.

(Yeah, take those extra seconds. You won’t have a fraction of that when it comes searing in)

Four balls in, Glenn Maxwell – having grown up on a staple diet of Australian fast bowlers – is rushed into a pull, a shot he’s bloody good at. Two nights ago, Jonny Bairstow had been captured in the very same manner. He’s rapid, he’s skiddy and he’s got just the extra hint of bounce.

Between balls, you see him rubbing the crease violently, ensuring he can see it pop miles away from where he comes running in. He’s got people around to constantly help him out. Krunal Pandya almost shadows him, highlighting the crease behind him and patting him again and again. 

He grimaces when Rajat Patidar flicks the last ball – at 154kph – to the fence.

One over later, Mayank is galloping in again. The action is ridiculously uncomplicated. Aren’t speedsters supposed to be jerky and awkward? Not always, just like his yet-to-debut teammate, Shamar Joseph. Imagine the bliss that these two in tandem would give. So far, one chain-wearing speed machine has been enough for the opposition.

Cam Green, the brute that he is, has just muscled a poorly timed pull, escaping short mid-wicket by inches. Next ball, he doesn’t manage to put a bat at all: the ball cannons into his off stump, and Mayank is taking flight in ecstasy.

Two overs in, he gestures for water, but no one spots him. Krunal waves animatedly, the relay picked up by Marcus Stoinis, who turns around and does the same. Give the new kid some water. He’s just clocked in the 150s again.

Matt Henry, merely a day into his job as a replacement player, comes steaming in with a bottle in hand. The boy’s got to go again.

As he stands at short fine-leg, you can see Mayank in his little bubble, unbothered by occasion or the several thousands cheering around him. It’s the same solo-flying Mayank who confessed to going to the gym alone between two and four in the afternoon in Delhi’s blazing hot summers, ensuring he finds no company. The only thing next to him would be a table fan, and that’s how he would like it.

Before the next over begins, Mayank talks to skipper KL Rahul, a looming figure of support. Mayank once said that only when he stood next to Rahul in the air-conditioned team gym, the solitary fan replaced by his team captain, did he truly realise that he belonged at this level.

Now, he’s surrounded by teammates that adore him: Stoinis nods when he whizzes one past the batter, Krunal keeps patting him on the back and head, Nicholas Pooran walks him to his bowling mark. When he’s at the boundary, 12th man K Gowtham’s next to him.

Two years ago, when Mayank spotted himself being picked in the auction on TV, for his base price in the accelerated round, he was so overwhelmed that he instantly lay in bed and started to pray. For an hour, he did not know which team he was playing for. Today, he’s the biggest story of that team.

At the strategic timeout, bowling coach Morne Morkel keeps his big paws on Mayank’s shoulder. Mayank is hot property now. For two years, he has waited for this chance, having missed the entirety of last season due to a hamstring injury. It took some time, but it’s all coming together now.

Fast bowling is in his fabric and he doesn’t switch off: he leaps at short third when Yash Thakur bumps one past Anuj Rawat’s head. He keeps his hands behind him when Naveen-ul-Haq is smashed for a six and celebrates his wicket like his own. Once his four overs are done, he quietly heads to the physio for a one-over stretching break, pointing at his shin.

He comes out, but goes back in again, even as Lucknow puts the final touches on a thumping win. When the final wicket is taken, he gets a bear hug from Jonty Rhodes on the sidelines, and nervously hangs his foot in the air, ensuring he doesn’t step out for the final handshakes before senior teammate Amit Mishra. 

Even when not bowling, you can see an everlasting, bustling energy in him. He briskly walks around with purpose and does little energetic hops when changing direction. It’s all new to him, but it’s all this and more that he wants.

“My aim is to play for India as much as possible,” Mayank says after the game. “I feel this is just the start and my main goal is what I am focussed on”.

Make that happen, boy. We can’t wait.

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