Tags: Australia tour of India 2023,
India vs Australia, 1st Test at Nagpur, Feb 09-13, 2023,
India,
Australia,
Todd Murphy
Published on: Feb 11, 2023
Scorecard
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When Todd Murphy was handed a Test debut in Nagpur by the Australian team, not everyone was convinced about the decision. However, two days into the Test against India and 22-year-old Murphy has emerged as the standout performer for the visitors
On Friday, February 10, Murphy completed an excellent five-wicket haul in his first Test. He dismissed KL Rahul on Day 1 of the match and added the scalps of Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and fellow debutant from the Indian team, Srikar Bharat, to complete his five-wicket haul.
Murphy ended the day with figures of 5/82 even as India reached 321/7 by stumps on Day 2. Speaking after the end of the day’s play, the youngster said, “It’s been a pretty special couple of days and to top it off with a five-wicket haul on debut is more than I ever hope for and it is going to be something that I’ll look back on for the rest of my life and be proud of.
“I haven’t bowled to a lot of people from around the world but I think the Indian guys they use their hands really well. They get their hands out in front of their pads and they have got a lot of scoring options too. So always a really difficult challenge there. And it was quite tough,” he added.
The Victoria-born youngster has played only seven first-class matches so far, claiming 29 wickets at an average of 25.20, with three four-wicket hauls. Murphy picked the A tour to Sri Lanka last year as one of the big moments in his career.
“One of the biggest things for me was getting to go to Sri Lanka and being on that A tour and having a little bit of success over that probably gave me the confidence I needed going back to Australia that I could mix it with first class cricketers,” he said.
“Being around some of the guys who had played Test cricket, observing everything and competing in the nets and bowling to the Sri Lankans. I took a lot of confidence out of that and reflected and went back, trusted myself a bit more and thought ‘what I’ve got can be good enough’ and believe in that,” he added.
Despite Murphy’s spectacular Test debut, India are in command of the Nagpur Test thanks to an impressive batting effort. Skipper Rohit Sharma led the way with 120, while all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja (66*) and Axar Patel (52*) chipped in with valuable half-centuries. India have a lead of 144 runs, with three first-innings wickets still standing.
–By A Cricket Correspondent
