Mayank Yadav may not have Shoaib Akhtar's aggression, but he has courage to spare

Justin Langer once said Pak great's aggression made him seem quicker. India's fast bowler has no such edge, and at Eden Park he showed what he has instead

There is a story Mayank Yadav tells about Justin Langer and Shoaib Akhtar that captures something of his persona. A few years ago, when Langer was coaching his IPL team, Lucknow Super Giants, he had explained to Mayank why Shoaib Akhtar's "aggressive personality" made him the fastest bowler he had faced.

There were other quicks around, but Shoaib's personality made Langer feel he was "quicker than others". Mayank follows that anecdote with a moment of self-awareness. "I am not aggressive. My nature is to be calm," he had told Star Sports. "I work around it on other things."

What he doesn't lack, though, is grit, perseverance and courage. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made it back to top-level cricket after two years in the wilderness, during which a series of injuries kept striking one body part after another. And yet, when he returned a few months ago, his pace was still up there.

He had mapped out his route: Delhi, India Under-19, IPL, India. Once, on Manjot Kalra's YouTube show, he recalled bowling at half pace during a Services trial to avoid being selected. A few thunderbolts escaped. A Navy job was offered. He fled in an auto. Speed wouldn't last, the official warned him.

Some aspects of his bowling are still a work in progress. At times, he telegraphs his short ball by dropping his head to the side and cocking his wrist at an angle at the point of release as he looks to bang the ball in short. It is also still not entirely clear what his stock ball is in terms of movement. But what has been noticeable is his improvement in mixing up lengths, and in courage.

On Friday night at Eden Park, in the fourth T20I, which India, having sealed the series, lost by 87 runs, he took 3 for 48 as New Zealand made 259 for 7. His courage was of a kind that doesn't need angry stares or verbal exchanges: sticking to his plan even when under fire from the batter. Take his second over of the innings, to Daryl Mitchell. The first few deliveries were walloped to the boundary, three of them rather full, but Mitchell kept clearing his front leg and scything the ball away.

A bouncer at this stage seemed likely, especially since Mayank had taken a wicket with that delivery in his first over. Perhaps he felt Mitchell might be expecting it, so he went instead for a searing yorker that trapped the batter's back foot right in front of middle and off. Mayank was quietly back at the top of his bowling mark, waiting for the DRS to confirm his and the umpire's verdict. The next ball was a 149 kmph yorker, six kmph faster than the wicket-taking delivery, which Glenn Phillips managed to stab away.

In fact, even the first over is worth revisiting. Mayank had repeatedly hurled full deliveries at Finn Allen and Tim Seifert. A slice from Allen flew towards third man, who leapt beyond the boundary rope and parried it back into play. This time, Mayank went for the bouncer off the final ball. His head fell over, his wrist took on that familiar crooked angle, and he banged the ball in short. Seifert leapt into the air for a fierce slash but was beaten by the pace and bounce, and third man snapped up the simple catch.

His next intervention in the game was probably his best. New Zealand were cruising at 109 for 3 after 10 overs, with two of their most in-form batters, Phillips and Bevon Jacobs, at the crease. Mayank began with three length balls before slipping in his best bouncer of the day to Jacobs. This time, there was no tell, no hint of what was coming, no falling away of the head. Jacobs is tall and strong, and likes to stand erect and crunch his pulls. Perhaps he was lulled by the gentle rhythm of Mayank's run-up and release and did not expect a 142 kmph short ball to climb so rapidly towards him. But the pull comes naturally to Jacobs, and he went for it. The ball had the pace and bounce to beat the bat rather than the other way around. The resulting miscue was swallowed inside the 30-yard circle.

His final spell with the ball, in the 18th over, proved costly: he conceded three sixes. The left-handed Michael Bracewell smartly used the pace to lap and scoop full deliveries on the leg-and-middle line over the boundary. The plan wasn't a bad one -- to tuck up the left-hander -- but Bracewell responded with deftness rather than muscle. Mayank changed tack, slipping in slower balls. The first worked, eliciting a miscued pull, but Bracewell was ready for the second, on the penultimate ball of the over, and came up with another scooped six. Mayank finally responded with an outside-off yorker that flew through to the wicketkeeper. Was it worth trying that earlier in the over? Those are the questions Mayank will ponder at this stage of his career. He might not have innate aggression, but grit and courage are nothing to sneeze at.