India, July 24 -- Mayank Yadav's first ball said everything two lost years couldn't. Bowled at 149 kph, angling in before straightening just enough to surprise Brian Bennett, who could only feather it through to the wicketkeeper. There can never be a pefect delivery but this came pretty close.

For Mayank, the scoreboard will remember the dismissal as a golden duck. His body might remember it as something far more significant. Looseners or the ones sprayed wide, comeback deliveries of fast bowlers are rarely pretty. But this was different. It wasn't merely the first ball of an innings. It was the first ball of a career that had threatened to disappear almost as quickly as it had arrived.

When Mayank burst onto the scene in 2024, India ap...