Todd Murphy starred with the ball for Australia in India’s first innings in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test match at VCA Stadium, Nagpur.
The debutant off-spinner returned with a five-wicket haul till stumps on Day 2, including the prized scalps of KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.
Speaking at the end of the second day’s play, Murphy said he will look back at this feat for the rest of his life and be proud of it.
“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,” Murphy told reporters.
The 22-year-old also praised the Indian batters and their ability to use hands against spinners.
“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 said.
Murphy revealed that he started out as a medium pacer but later found off-breaks to be his strong suit.
“I think in all honesty my medium pace wasn’t really any good anyway, so it sort of just came a time where I was tinkering in the nets with off-spin bowling and yeah, got some really good feedback that what was coming out of my hand was alright.
“So, just went from there and kept working at it and it’s been the best thing I’ve ever done. So thankful I have,” he said.
It has been a memorable journey for Murphy, who wasn’t even playing first-class cricket a year back.
“I think this time last year I was still not in the state side so it sort of has been quite quick progress,” he admitted.
Murphy said his career changed when he toured Sri Lanka with the Australia A side last year.
“But 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.”
“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,” Murphy said.
(With PTI Inputs)
