Getting Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara out on his first day in Test cricket is the stuff dreams are made of and no wonder, Kyle Jamieson thinks the events of the past couple of weeks have been “surreal”.
Jamieson, who made an impact on his white ball debut during New Zealand’s 3-0 ODI series win, picked three for 38 on his Test debut and also took a fine catch in the deep to leave India struggling at 122 for five on a rain-marred first day.
Has it sunk in? “Not really. It’s still sinking in. The last couple of weeks have been pretty surreal as well. Pretty pleased, and from a team perspective, we’re in a pretty good position,” said the Auckland-born pacer, who is currently the tallest among international cricketers at 6ft 8 inches.
“Kohli’s a pretty good batter and such a key to their line-up. To get him early was massive for us. To get a couple (including Pujara) early was where the emotion came from, certainly pretty special,” said Jamieson.
While Kohli’s problems outside the off-stump have been talked about, Jamieson feels that “nitpicking” wasn’t the smartest thing to do. “He’s scored runs all around the world, so to try and nitpick would not be the smartest. With the assistance of the pitch, it was how we would try to make him play… He’s so strong on the stump line. I probably missed a little bit but managed to get the edge which was good.”
The extra bounce that he generates has helped him since his international debut. “I tried to keep it simple the last few weeks. My role is to make them play and with that extra bounce, bring them forward. There was a lot of assistance with pace and bounce and swing and seam. That simplifies my game plan,” he said.
Jamieson’s stunning height also helps him to bowl slightly more fuller than other seam bowlers, something that helped him get rid of Pujara and Hanuma Vihari. “With my height, I can afford to go a fraction fuller, especially out here with the extra bounce. I try to make guys commit to play off the front-foot.
“In that second spell, the first half of it, there were a lot of balls left on length. How do you commit them on the front-foot (is the key) and if it does swing or seam, you’re in with a chance of bringing the edge in.”
