Whatever way Matt Kuhnemann's Test career goes from here, he's going to have some good stories to tell.
Test Match Debut of Matt Kuhnemann
While the first Test of this series was taking place he was playing for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield. Then he jumps on a plane and a few days later is making his debut in Delhi and taking the new ball. Virat Kohli becomes his first Test wicket.
On the first day in Indore he held the ball aloft as he walked from the field, barely two-and-a-half hours after India's innings had started, with the extraordinary figures of 5 for 16 from nine overs - a first-class career-best. His dad had reached the ground just in time to see the fifth wicket after lunch having missed the first session.
At times Australia have tied themselves in knots over their desire to have a left-arm spinner in the side and their handling of Ashton Agar was a curious sequence of his events. When Mitchell Swepson is available for Queensland, Kuhnemann can't make their Sheffield Shield side, but he was ideal for this devilish surface, which has even left India unimpressed with how much it offered on day one, and he troubled the right-handers in what was an uplifting performance for Australia on a tour that had threatened to come off the rails.
"It's been a whirlwind," Kuhnemann said of the rapid elevation, whose ODI debut came in similar fashion in Sri Lanka last year. "Like every night I'm sort of just pinching myself. Even today just sitting in the change room, just looking around speaking to Mitchell Starcy and Nathan Lyon and thinking this is unreal, just be able to do this. To even go out there and play with Steve Smith and all these other players and contribute to the team, it's really awesome."
Kuhnemann played a key role in getting Australia into this game after heads could have gone down. They lost the toss on a bone-dry pitch then saw Rohit Sharma nick the cover off the first ball of the game, only they didn't review. When replays showed, somewhat surprisingly, that India's captain had also survived an lbw in the same over, Smith could have been forgiven for worrying how events would transpire.
Matt Kuhnemann picked up his first five-wicket haul in Tests BCCI
It was vital for Australia's peace of mind that they removed Rohit without too much damage after the missed reviews. Smith turned to spin in the sixth over after the brief, rare sight of two quicks in operation as the recalled duo of Starc and Cameron Green took the new ball. There is little chance of either of them being over-bowled on their comebacks.
Kuhnemann's third ball spun sharply past Rohit's edge and the next turned and bounced to defeat a slog sweep. The straight boundaries at the Holkar Stadium are enticingly short and Rohit could not resist, skipping down and being defeated by more huge spin to present Alex Carey a stumping.
In his next over, Kuhnemann produced a perfect left-arm spinner's dismissal when he drew a skittish Shubman Gill forward and found the outside edge. It felt like every ball could be a wicket-taking opportunity. Two deliveries after dismissing Gill, Kuhnemann produced one that was full at leg stump and spun square past Kohli.
On a pitch turning more than anything he had seen before, he kept it simple and let the surface play the tricks. "Nathan Lyon was excellent out there," Kuhnemann said. "Even after a couple of wickets he said don't get ahead of yourself, just think about bowling that ball…he was great for me. Not every day you get these wickets like so enjoy them, it's very different to what we get back home in Australia."
Meanwhile, there was little Cheteshwar Pujara could do about his delivery from Lyon which spun sharply and kept low. Given the conditions, Kohli was constructing a superb innings before he was dismissed by Todd Murphy for the third time in the series, an offbreak straightening perfectly from round the wicket to win the lbw.
It was a little surprising when Kuhnemann was taken out of the attack with figures of 5-0-13-3 - Shreyas Iyer having dragged on - although Smith was proactive in switching the spinners around depending on the right and left-hand batters. But after lunch his fourth wicket came when R Ashwin edged a full delivery, and the fifth arrived when one skidded into Umesh Yadav's pads.
Although it's all relative in an innings that lasted 33.2 overs of which he bowled nine, Kuhnemann said he had implemented some subtle changes as the ball got older having watched how Ravindra Jadeja operated in Delhi.
"I'm a massive fan of Jadeja and Ashwin so watched how they have bowled in the last few years," he said. "The way Jadeja uses his crease and probably the biggest thing I picked up in Delhi is that he brings his length back a little bit when the ball gets a little bit older. That's probably the main thing I brought into this Test. Don't want to get full especially on a wicket that stays low, being consistent on that five-six metre length."
By stumps, Jadeja himself had four to his name - all Australia's wickets to fall - to take his series haul to 21, and with India bowling last he could yet be the left-arm spinner to have the decisive say on this game. However, Australia are well placed to prevent that happening. It would be a remarkable turnaround, and Kuhnemann would be a big part of the story.
Matt Kuhnemann's Test debut was a whirlwind of an experience. In the midst of playing for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, he received a call to join the Australian Test team in India. After a few days of travel, Kuhnemann found himself making his debut in Delhi and taking the new ball. His first Test wicket was none other than Virat Kohli.
In the first day of the Test match in Indore, Kuhnemann finished with the extraordinary figures of 5 for 16 from nine overs - a first-class career-best. He held the ball aloft as he walked from the field, barely two-and-a-half hours after India's innings had started. His dad had reached the ground just in time to see the fifth wicket after lunch having missed the first session.
Kuhnemann's rapid elevation to the Test team was similar to his ODI debut in Sri Lanka last year. "Like every night I'm sort of just pinching myself. Even today just sitting in the change room, just looking around speaking to [Mitchell] Starcy and Nathan Lyon and thinking this is unreal, just be able to do this. To even go out there and play with Steve Smith and all these other players and contribute to the team, it's really awesome," he said.
Kuhnemann played a key role in getting Australia into this game after they lost the toss on a bone-dry pitch and saw Rohit Sharma nick the cover off the first ball of the game, only they didn't review. When replays showed that India's captain had also survived an lbw in the same over, it was vital for Australia's peace of mind that they removed Rohit without too much damage. Kuhnemann's third ball spun sharply past Rohit's edge and the next turned and bounced to defeat a slog sweep. The straight boundaries at the Holkar Stadium are enticingly short and Rohit could not resist, skipping down and being defeated by more huge spin to present Alex Carey a stumping.
In his next over, Kuhnemann produced a perfect left-arm spinner's dismissal when he drew a skittish Shubman Gill forward and found the outside edge. On a pitch turning more than anything he had seen before, he kept it simple and let the surface play the tricks. "Nathan Lyon was excellent out there," Kuhnemann said. "Even after a couple of wickets, he said don't get ahead of yourself, just think about bowling that ball…he was great for me. Not every day you get these wickets like so enjoy them, it's very different to what we get back home in Australia."
Although Kuhnemann was taken out of the attack with figures of 5-0-13-3 after Shreyas Iyer dragged on, Smith was proactive in switching the spinners around depending on the right and left-hand batters. Kuhnemann's fourth wicket came after lunch when R Ashwin edged a full delivery, and the fifth arrived when one skidded into Umesh Yadav's pads.
Kuhnemann implemented some subtle changes as the ball got older having watched how Ravindra Jadeja operated in Delhi. "I'm a massive fan of Jadeja and Ashwin, so watched how they have bowled in the last few years," he said. "The way [Jadeja] uses his crease and probably the biggest thing I picked up in Delhi is that he brings his length back a little bit when the ball gets a little bit older. That's probably the main thing I brought into this Test. Don't want to get full especially on a wicket that stays low, being consistent on that five-six metre length."
Jadeja had four wickets to his name - all Australia's wickets to fall - to take his series haul to 21. It was an impressive display of spin bowling from Jadeja, who had been consistently performing throughout the series. With India bowling last, he could yet be the left-arm spinner to have the decisive say on this game.
However, Australia is well placed to prevent that from happening. Thanks to Kuhnemann's remarkable performance, they have managed to get back into the game after a disappointing start. Kuhnemann played a key role in getting Australia into this game after heads could have gone down following the missed reviews and Rohit Sharma's early dismissal.
In his debut Test match, Kuhnemann showed great composure and skill, keeping things simple and letting the pitch do the talking. He bowled a consistent length and used the tricks he had learned from watching other great spinners like Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin. His ability to trouble the right-handers on a devilish surface was an uplifting performance for Australia on a tour that had threatened to come off the rails.
Kuhnemann's father had reached the ground just in time to see his son take his fifth wicket after lunch, having missed the first session. Kuhnemann himself was pinching himself at the rapid elevation and the opportunity to play with some of the greatest players in the Australian team.
"It's really awesome," he said. "To even go out there and play with Steve Smith and all these other players and contribute to the team."
Conclusion:
Kuhnemann's performance is a testament to the importance of being prepared for any opportunity that may arise. While he was playing for Queensland in the Sheffield Shield, he got the call to join the Australian Test team in Delhi. Despite the sudden change, Kuhnemann was ready and able to make an impact in his debut match.
Whether or not Kuhnemann's Test career continues, he will have some good stories to tell. His rapid elevation and remarkable performance in his debut Test match will undoubtedly be remembered for a long time to come. It's a testament to the talent and hard work that goes into being a successful cricketer, and a reminder to all aspiring players to be ready to seize any opportunity that comes their way.
