Last Updated: February 10, 2023, 13:52 IST
Todd Murphy celebrates the fall of KL Rahul in Border Gavaskar Trophy.
The 22-year from Victoria, made full use of the spin that was on offer at the VCA stadium in Nagpur, picking up four wickets for 54 runs.
Aussie debutante Todd Murphy showed that he does relish a challenge when he came face to face with the Indian batting lineup during the Border Gavaskar Trophy match at Nagpur. On the second day of the match, he managed to account for KL Rahul, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli, registering figures of 4/54.
But who is Todd Murphy and how came into the reckoning for a Test debut?
Murphy, as per media reports, wasn’t even in contention and it was Travis Head who would have played in his place. But the situation changed on its head when Australia landed in Nagpur after their well-publicized training in Alur, Karnataka.
The pitch showed definite signs of wear and tear and it looked that it will break down as the game progresses.
The decision was spot on as Murphy went onto pick the big fish of Indian cricket, registering figures of 4/54.
“It came as a bit of a surprise (being included in the Australian squad), to be honest. I’ve been lucky enough that over my First-Class games, I’ve been able to perform well in a few of them, so it was nice that what I’ve been doing had got recognized, and the selectors see something in me,” he told Sportstar.
With Murphy in the playing eleven, Australia revisited an old strategy that they had abandoned a long ago. Playing two specialists off spinners which they did last in 1988 against Pakistan.
It’s hard to imagine that he had just one domestic game to his name at the start of last summer.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old bamboozled batters around the country in the Sheffield Shield this summer, snaring 14 wickets from just four matches at an average of 17.71, on top of spinning Victoria to victory against New South Wales in a thriller, to catapult himself into the national frame.
Murphy was named as one of four strike spinners in Australia’s 18-man squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but was not expected to play, behind the already-capped Mitchell Swepson and Ashton Agar.
He told media at the time after he bolted into the squad: “I’m not sure they can fit four of us in.
“I am under no illusions of how difficult it might be at times with how well (India) play spin bowling,” he said.
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