The Nagpur Test of 2008 between India and Australia could be more known for being Sourav Ganguly's last and the comfortable victory that the hosts ended up with. But for Jason Krejza, the off-spinner, who made his Test debut in that game, those five days remain among the most memorable.
He took eight wickets in the first innings, albeit for 215 runs, before taking 4/143 in the second. Krejza's 12-fer against that famed Indian batting unit, including the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, also featured a beauty to dismiss Laxman in the second half.
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Recalling how his ball that turned sharply to beat Laxman and dislodge his stumps came about on ESPNcricinfo's 'The Cricket Monthly' column, Krejza said it was Michael Clarke who told the then skipper Ricky Ponting to back him, as he gained the confidence to flight the ball in the air despite Laxman being one of the greatest shufflers at the crease against the spin in the history of the game.
"At the start of the Test, I started getting taken apart a little bit because the Indians went quite hard at me. I didn’t start doubting myself but those thoughts almost start creeping into your mind,” Krejza said.
"But when Shane Watson got Murali Vijay, I remember hearing Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting talking and Punter was going, ‘What do I do?’ and Clarkey just said, ‘Mate, you’ve got to back your spinner, just bowl him.’ When I heard that I was pretty sure I’m going to get a decent crack here to find my feet and keep bowling."
Krejza remembers seeing the rough outside the right-hander's off-stump when he came in to bowl just before tea on Day 4.
"By that stage, there was a little bit of rough, and I was thinking, ‘Right, I’ve got some assistance now, I can start trying to throw it out into the rough and let it spin.’ We set the fields for that, with quite a straight cover."
Bowled at just below 85kph, Krejza's delivery got Laxman reaching for the ball, which created just enough gap between the bat and the pad for it to sneak through after pitching. It was an off-spinner's dream ball.
"I call it a fluke because I think it was a fluke, like Warney’s ball of the century was a fluke," Krejza said. "In my whole career you could probably count them on two hands, those deliveries where everything just comes out perfectly."
"It’s really that ‘pinch yourself’ moment when I talk back over it with people. These guys were my heroes, watching them destroy spinners and destroy quicks all over the world, then all of a sudden I was there bowling against them and getting them out," he added.
Despite his performance in that match, Krejza's career lasted just one more Test. However, he says dismissing few of the India greats is something he'll cherish for the rest of his life.
"It was a hard thing to feel like you belonged, because these were the people you watched on TV. It was a great experience, incredible," Krejza said.
