Former Australia captain Tim Paine seems to be a fan of KS Bharat’s glovework after the 29-year-old pulled off a brilliant stumping to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne. The Aussie batter was on 49 when Bharat pulled off the stumping.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 9, 2023 14:09 IST
Bharat pulled off a top stumping to dismiss the dangerous Labuschagne (Courtesy: AP)
By India Today Web Desk: It seems like Tim Paine was pleased by the stumping of Marnus Labuschagne by KS Bharat during the first Test between India and Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Nagpur on Thursday.
Bharat was given the nod over Ishan Kishan for the Nagpur Test as he made his Test debut and was handed his cap by veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara.
The 29-year-old was a spectator to the carnage by Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj in the first few overs as the pace duo dismissed the Australian opener cheaply.
Khawaja was trapped in front of the stumps by Siraj while Warner was beaten all ends up and saw his off stump go for a walk by Shami. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne would then come together and steadied the ship with the latter being the main man.
Labuschagne scored 49 runs and guided the visitors safely to lunch but then Bharat decided to flip the script. After the Aussie batter was drawn out of the crease by Ravindra Jadeja, Bharat pulled off a MS Dhoni-esque stumping to dismiss the danger man and get the big wicket.
This changed the tide of the match as Matt Renshaw also went back to the pavilion in the very next ball as India regained control.
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A fan decided to ask former Australia captain Tim Paine if he enjoyed the stumping of Labuschagne during the match. Paine responded and said it was excellent work from the India wicketkeeper to send the Australian batter packing.
Bharat had opened up on his journey to the Indian team earlier on and said that it was all about the small steps he made.
“For me to believe that I had potential to play for India, it took me four or five years of continuous performances. The first three years i had brilliant seasons, then I had a lean patch. And when I had a lean patch and bounced back, it is when I realized I had some potential to make it big and not just first-class.”
“My journey has never skyrocketed. It has always consisted of small steps,” said Bharat.
