Nagpur, Nov 07: Australian off-spinner Jason Krejza became the sixth bowler to take eight wickets in an innings in his debut Test Friday and described the experience as "unbelievable."
Krejza was the only Australian bowler capable of upsetting the powerful Indian batting order during the first innings of the fourth Test and collected a remarkable haul of eight for 215 from 43.5 overs.
The return was essential in keeping alive Australia`s chance of winning the series, after reaching 189-2 at stumps in reply to India`s 441.
"It`s a bit of a blur still," Krejza said. "I tried to keep doing what I was doing. I was happy to get the wickets, it`s still unbelievable to me."
Five of his wickets came in 19 runs after lunch, and even Krejza was struggling to remain calm about the feat.
"I was just trying to keep my emotions under control," he said. "When the five-for came around, that`s the moment I`ll always remember, with a great catch from Michael Clarke. I thought I bowled better today than yesterday. I`ve started really well in Test cricket."
Sourav Ganguly was Krejza`s fifth victim, when he edged low to Clarke at first slip. It was then that Krejza started believing he could take eight wickets.
Only Albert Trott, Alf Valentine, Bob Massie, Narendra Hirwani and Lance Klusener had done that before in their Test debuts.
"When I was getting my five-for, (Brett Lee) said: `You can get eight-for here.` I believed that and I kept going and got a bagful," Krejza said.
He finished off the innings by removing Zaheer Khan (1), Amit Mishra (0) and Ishant Sharma (0) in nine balls.
Despite his historic feat on the second day, Krejza said his favorite dismissal was his first on Thursday, when Rahul Dravid popped a catch to Simon Katich at short-leg.
"That was the stand-out," he said. "My strategy was if he came at it with low hands, and if I got some bounce, I could get him. It was a plan and it worked."
There were a number of other milestones for Krejza, including his maiden first-class five-wicket haul, and becoming the 14th Australian to achieve such a collection on debut.
Krejza, a surprise selection for the India tour, was forced to wait until the final test to get an opportunity, but he has quickly moved up the slow-bowling pecking order.
"It was an honor for me to be here in the first place," he said. "For me to play was an even greater one. (Waiting) never worried me, I knew I was going to get a go at some stage."
Bureau Report
