‘The difference he made was to bring in the aura of calmness’ – Prasidh Krishna on McGrath’s influence
Team India is shining bright in the three-match One Day series against the England side as they won the first One Day International by a massive 66 runs, courtesy of two debutants Prasidh Krishna and Krunal Pandya. While Krunal has already represented India in as many as 18 T20 Internationals, it was a maiden international outing for Krishna.
Prasidh had a sensational debut for Men in Blue as he helped India reach the finishing line by scalping as many as four wickets when they were defending a total of 318 runs. The 25-year-old seamer initially succumbed to pressure as he leaked a lot of runs to the opposition’s opening duo of Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow.
However, the right-hander scripted a stunning comeback as he gave the first breakthrough to the hosts by picking Roy followed by the dismissal of Ben Stokes. Later in the innings, Krishna also managed to send Tom Curran and Sam Billings back to the pavilion to return with the magical figures of 8.1-1-54-4. Also, he became the first Indian bowler to scalp four wickets on his ODI debut.
Glenn McGrath heaps praise on Prasidh Krishna
Impressed by the temperament and courage shown by the right-arm quick, Australia’s legendary cricketer Glenn McGrath took to his official Instagram handle to congratulate the Bengaluru-born.
“Congratulations Prasidh @skiddyy on taking 4/54 & breaking the Indian record for most wickets taken by a bowler on ODI debut. Well done mate #cricket #mrfpacefoundation #fbc,” McGrath wrote in the Instagram post.
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Glenn McGrath is no less than a coach for Prasidh as the latter had travelled to Brisbane to take part in the CA Centre of Excellence in 2019 as part of MRF Pace Foundation’s MoU with Cricket Australia. Listening to the words of appreciation from his mentor, the 25-year-old couldn’t help but feel grateful as he reflected on the things he learned from the Australia great.
“The difference he made was to bring in that aura of calmness and also he was very specific about the line and length with respect to different pitches. He always spoke of being consistent. The first thing I picked from him was to remain in the present under all circumstances as it is the most important aspect for a bowler when you are playing a game,” IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders official website quoted Prasidh as saying on McGrath’s contribution to his career.
