With the India tour of Australia slated for November 2024, Australian cricketer Steve Smith appears to be anticipating the challenge of facing the emerging pace sensation Mayank Yadav. Yadav’s exceptional performances in the Indian Premier League have garnered attention, and Smith seems eager to test his skills against the young speedster during the upcoming series.
Steve Smith Hailed Mayank Yadav For His Sensational Performance
Mayank has impressed everyone with his fast bowling against PBKS and RCB, earning two Player of the Match awards and becoming a hot topic. He’s now second in the IPL 2024 Purple Cap standings, taking six wickets in just two matches.
Other bowlers in the top 5 have played three games each. Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden mentioned during commentary that Steve Smith is closely watching Mayank’s impressive performance against RCB.
Mayank’s brilliant three-wicket haul helped dismiss RCB for just 153 runs, leading to LSG’s 28-run victory. Lucknow’s spinners surprised RCB’s openers, but Kohli fought back aggressively against the pace attack, hitting a towering six.
Siddharth claimed Kohli’s wicket, followed by du Plessis’ run-out, and Mayank’s raw pace further troubled RCB. Maxwell fell to a 151 kmph delivery, caught by Pooran, while Cameron Green lost his stumps. Mayank then dismissed Patidar, reducing RCB to 103 for six.
Steve Smith praised Mayank Yadav’s progress, highlighting the challenge of bowling consistently in a T20 match. He appreciated Yadav’s ability to maintain a steady line and length, which is essential for young bowlers learning to control their pace. While speaking on Star Sports, Steve Smith said:
“There is a difference between bowling four overs and having a ball 20. Mayank Yadav’s growth from what I’ve seen so far is not giving much rubbish. So he’s hitting good areas, bowling a good short line and the thing with these young players that come in the poll, that kind of pace. If they spray it around a bit, that’s when you go the distance and go the journey. But at the moment, he’s just hitting such good areas. You actually have to take risks of good balls and when it’s coming down at 155 clicks, it is not an easy task,”
Steven Smith said, “Mayank Yadav should play the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. I’m looking forward to facing him”. (Star Sports). pic.twitter.com/xDQnF8Qg2A
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) April 3, 2024
Steve Smith observed that Mayank Yadav didn’t employ slower deliveries in his bowling during the match. Despite this, Smith expressed confidence in Yadav’s ability to develop such variations in the future, indicating faith in the bowler’s talent. He hinted that batsmen could exploit Yadav’s pace by adjusting their approach, such as moving inside the line or creating room to better handle his pace. He added:
“And you look at all those balls. There wasn’t one slower ball in there, so you don’t have to worry about that at this stage. You might have it in this armoury. We haven’t seen it yet, but you can probably trust. you can get inside the line or maybe give a bit of room and go, go use the pace and let it come to you. But the thing that impressed me is he’s played his debut game the other day. Obviously, there’d be a lot of hype around him, and you see a lot of players have that one good game and then just can’t back it up. But he’s come straight back in bold like an absolute genius Got out. Uh, Glenn Maxwell, one of the best T20 battles in the world, Come and Green, an international player who plays fast bowling really well and Patidar as well. So three quality players And he’s What do they say? They remember the name that old,”
