Chawla had been keeping himself ready in the nets. “All this while, when I wasn’t getting any match, I was trying to concentrate and work in the nets. I told myself that I will bowl from the first batsman to the last man and I was putting myself in match situations,” he said.

“I used to watch the Australian batsmen to know where they played their shots and assessed their strength and weaknesses. I used to prepare myself keeping all this in mind, telling myself that whenever I get my turn, I have to perform,” says Chawla, who returned with the most economical figures of 10-0-33-0.

It’s been five months since Chawla last played international cricket. He still smiles at the mention of foxing Kevin Pietersen with his googly during the England tour. “Now I am trying to concentrate on the leg-break, trying to work on getting the ball to rip away from the right-hander. I spoke to Anil bhai (Kumble) when I reached here and asked him for advice and about the pitches here. He asked me to bowl my normal stuff, like I did in England.”

That Chawla found himself in Australia was because of Dhoni , who insisted on carrying a wrist spinner ahead of the more experienced left-arm spinner Murali Kartik.

“Honestly, I was very surprised when I saw my name in the ODI squad. I had done really well in the domestic games in between but Kartik had some success against Australia and Pakistan. I wasn’t expecting a call but, when it came, I just wanted to make the most of my comeback into international cricket. “The injury in the T20 World Cup happened at the wrong time, when I was doing really well. But I took it as part of the game.”