Speedster Mayank Yadav admitted that staying motivated through injury setbacks was a challenge, but the motivation of returning to India colours kept him going, following India’s comprehensive win over Zimbabwe in the 1st T20I.

Mayank was the cornerstone of India’s victory in the opener in Harare, cranking up the speedometers and rushing the batters for pace with the new ball. He returned figures of 2/18 from his four overs, striking off the first ball of the match to dismiss the dangerous Brian Bennett before removing Dion Myers in the fifth over.

The game marked Mayank’s fourth appearance in India colours and first in two years, after persistent back injuries threatened to stall his career. He missed a major portion of IPL 2025, before he picked up another back injury after eventually featuring in two games. He underwent surgery following the season and marked his comeback for India A in the warmup fixtures ahead of the T20 World Cup, before playing four matches for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2026, going wicketless at an economy rate of 11.37.

“It was very difficult [to keep myself motivated], especially this two-year gap was very challenging for me as a person because the main thing is age wasn’t on my side at that time. I was only 22 or 23 years old,” Mayank told reporters after his Player of the Match-worthy exploits in the 1st T20I.

“So that thing always affected me that at such a young age, I’m having to see so much. At the same time, the motivation to play for the country exists from childhood for every player. So that motivation was there for me that I should return to play for the country and perform the way I did”.

Mayank was partnered alongside another tearaway quick in Ashok Sharma, and Prince Yadav, who debuted on the recent UK tour and is capable of clocking high speeds himself. While Mayank said that there was no conversation among the troika regarding their pace, he stated that he relayed necessary information to his colleagues after his successful first over.

“We don’t talk much about pace but we share a very good bond,” Mayank said.

“When I bowled my first over, whatever help I got, I shared it with Ashok and Prince as well on what was the best option to attack. We were in a strong condition [position] after the first six overs so [we spoke about] how we can squeeze them further.”

The game marked Shreyas Iyer’s first win as Indian captain in eight attempts, after crushing defeats in Ireland and England. It was also India’s first win in the format following their successful T20 World Cup defence in March.

Mayank said he felt “very free” playing under Iyer’s captaincy, adding that he was backed to trust his plan.

“I didn’t speak much to him before the match. But when he was captaining, I felt that he showed a lot of confidence in the bowlers and I felt very good that whatever I wanted to bowl, he backed that,” Mayank said.

“When he gave me some advice too, I felt very confident that I can back that and it was a good option.

“I felt very free playing with him. It’s the first time I’m playing under his captaincy, I’ve only seen him lead on TV or with other teams so it felt very good.”

Mayank will look to reprise his heroics in the 2nd T20I at the same venue on Saturday (July 25), with India aiming to wrap up the series.