Mayank Yadav Credits India Dream for Injury Comeback

Reflecting on the difficult period away from the game, Mayank admitted that the lay-off tested him mentally. "It was very difficult, 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 the match.

"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," he added.

Mayank made an immediate impact by dismissing Brian Bennett off the opening ball after Ishan Kishan completed a successful review behind the stumps. He later removed Dion Myers with another lively delivery as Zimbabwe slipped to 32/4 before recovering to post 125/7 through Wessly Madhevere’s 39 and Tadiwanashe Marumani’s unbeaten 27.

Mayank also praised Iyer’s leadership, saying the India skipper gave his bowlers complete freedom to execute their plans.

"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 could 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."

India will look to seal the three-match series when the two sides meet in the second T20I on Saturday.