'To get to bowl to a guy like that' - Todd Murphy reflects on his battles with Virat Kohli in first three Tests

Australia have made a remarkable comeback in the ongoing four-match Test series against India as they beat them by nine wickets in the third Test played in Indore and registered their first win of the series. Nathan Lyon was awarded ‘Player of the Match’ for his figures of 11/99 which destroyed the Indian batting.

Apart from Lyon, the other spinner who has performed exceptionally in the series is Todd Murphy, who was chosen ahead of the experienced Ashton Agar in the first Test and hasn’t let his team down.

Out of all the wickets the off-spinner has claimed in the series so far, the one he cherishes the most is of the star Indian batter Virat Kohli whom he has dismissed thrice in three games. The 22-year-old also became the first bowler to get Kohli out stumped during the second Test in Delhi.

In a recent interview with Fox Sports, the off-spinner revealed that bowling to the likes of Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara has been a daunting task on his debut tour.

“I look back to Nagpur and when (Kohli) walked out to bat, I was at the top of my mark just thinking, ‘wow, this is as good as it gets to get to bowl to a guy like that. To be able to have that for the first three Tests and a couple of really good battles has been awesome, and really enjoyable. No different to bowling to a lot of their guys … standing there, it’s daunting at times but it’s also very exciting,” Murphy was quoted as saying by Fox Sports.

Murphy further disclosed that his preparation for Victorian one-day games and his BBL campaign for the Sydney Sixers helped him to prepare for the India tour as he’s been able to use side-spin to such great effect in the series.

“It’s something that I’ve been able to work away while playing a lot of white ball cricket, just varying seam positions and speeds, and I think that’s been able to hold me in decent stead over here obviously that I can just sort of adapt to whatever need be,” Murphy said.

Todd Murphy also said that bowling lesser overs in Indore despite his excellent rhythm didn’t bother him. During the third Test, left-arm spinner Matt Kuhnemann bowled more in tandem with Lyon.

Playing with Nathan Lyon there’s different roles I’ve got to play: Todd Murphy

“Also playing with Nathan Lyon there’s different roles I’ve got to play, so to be able to do that and be able to come out of different scenarios has been handy for me,” the Victoria-born cricketer said.

“Steve (Smith) talked about it before the last Test – putting your ego away and just knowing that you’re only going to come on and bowl short spells at times, and it doesn’t mean you’re not bowling well. Just accepting that … if you want to be able to work, the three of us, you’ve got to be able to do that,” he concluded.

The fourth and final match of the series will be played from March 9, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, in Ahmedabad. Australia, who’re trailing by 1-2 in the series will look to level it with another win in the last Test.

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