Former India fast bowler Praveen Kumar recalled the famous second CB series 2008 final in Brisbane where his three-wicket opening burst helped the country win a tri-series in Australia for the very first time.
India, having won the first of best-of-three finals in Sydney, needed to win at the Gabba to rewrite history books.
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And after the great Sachin Tendulkar's majestic 91 had given the team a fighting total of 258 on that surface, it was Praveen who made the telling blow to what was an intimidating Australian batting line-up.
He swung the ball beautifully that evening to dismiss Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, leaving the hosts in a precarious situation at 32/3, which they never recovered from and eventually lost the match by 9 runs.
Knowing his ability to swing the ball both ways, Praveen says he used to carefully observe batsmen's feet and their body language. Gauging their strengths and weaknesses early gave him the clue as to which areas he can target.
"Let me tell you, I could catch a batsman by watching his feet and body language. That moment (Brisbane, 2008) I was just putting on display the art that I have," Praveen told IANS, revisiting the match where he later got Brett Lee out to return with figures of 4/46 and bagged the 'Man of the Match' award on one of the most memorable nights in Indian cricket.
"You see most things about bowling are simple. I was not thinking about anything. My bowling style dictated the areas I have to pitch and I was watching the wicket and bowling."
Among his wickets, it is the Gilchrist one that Praveen feels the most delighted for, as he got the great wicketkeeper batsman out caught with the one that moved away late against the left-hander. As it happened, that innings was Gilchrist's last for Australia at the highest level.
"'Gilchrist paidal tha upar waali ball par' (Gilchrist was vulnerable to the ball that used to be pitched up)," he said.
"Ponting, they used to say, he pulls the ball well. So I said, 'isko pull par hi nikaalna hai' (let us catch him on the pull)."
"Whatever is the strength of someone, can also be his weakness. I bowled short, he pulled and was caught at short mid-on (by Yuvraj). I have got Ponting out thrice, once in Nagpur - there before he could realise the ball had hit the pad and he was out."
"It is about catching the batsman, a person. You catch a batsman by how he is playing. You need brains for that. In Ponting's case, I thought let me try a short one."
Praveen, however, admits being slightly fortunate on the one he got Clarke with.
"'Maine ball dabaai aur wo baith gayee' (I pushed the ball on the pitch and it didn't rise and went on at a very low trajectory). I got a bit lucky there. The pitch helped me on that one. But I am proud of the way I got Gilchrist."
"When a bowler uses his hands (art) and brain, he can bowl even if he has just gotten up from sleep. You will naturally catch the good length if you have it in you. By God's grace, I had practiced so much that even if I could get up from my sleep, I could step out and bowl," he added.
Praveen played 6 Tests, 68 ODIs and 10 T20Is in a career that didn't quite reach the heights it was expected to, but certainly featured some unforgettable moments.
