Indian spin king Ravi Jadeja has promised to give Australia’s Matt Kuhnemann a masterclass following the end of the Border-Gavaskar series.
But judging by Kuhnemann’s breakout performance in Indore, he might be able to teach his fellow left-armer something, too.
The 26-year-old was the unlikely hero of Australia’s stunning start to the third Test on Wednesday, taking career best first-class figures of 5-16.
Kuhnemann, who was playing in the Sheffield Shield for Queensland in front of barely a 100 spectators less than three weeks ago, ran through India’s star batting line-up in just his second Test.
He is a self-confessed “massive fan” of Jadeja and spoke with the magnetic allrounder after debuting in Delhi last week.
“The way he (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,” Kuhnemann said on Wednesday.
“That’s probably the main thing I took out of the second Test … don’t want to get too full, especially on a wicket that stays low.
“I said, ‘have you got any tips for me after the last Test?’ He said ‘yes – at the end of the series’.
He picked up two wickets, one of the scalps being India legend Virat Kohli, in Delhi last week, but Kuhnemann did have a challenging debut.
Australia were blown away in a dramatic collapse in their second innings to lose in difficult fashion and India’s batters tried to go after Kuhnemann’s bowling.
Yet despite the tourists falling down 0-2 in the series, Kuhnemann has just tried to soaked up the experience of being in India.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Kuhnemann said after joining Australia’s squad after the first Test in Nagpur.
“Like every night I’m sort of just pinching myself.
“Even today just sitting in the change room, just looking around speaking to ‘Starcy’ (Mitchell Starc) 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 great players and contribute to the team, it’s really awesome.”
Kuhnemann’s outstanding performance helped set the tone for Australia’s most dominant day of the series.
Australia go into day two at 4-156, a lead of 47 over the shell-shocked Indians.
“Really special to take wickets out there with the team,” Kuhnemann said.
“I think it is a really good day for our team in general with the bowlers going really well and the batters stepping up as well and doing a good job for us.
“Yeah it’s really cool, but there’s a long way to go in this game. Thursday is going to be a massive day.”
© AAP 2023
