Among all the instinctive decisions skipper MS Dhoni made during the last month, this young little leg-spinner had not featured anywhere. Finally, Piyush Chawla’s turn came at the most critical time. Today he entered the grounds as one of the final aces up Dhoni’s sleeve and the 19-year old, despite not getting a wicket, bowled well to the left-handers to make an immediate impact on a slow Sydney wicket. With a comprehensive victory sealed by the batsmen on Sunday, Chawla remains one of India’s unsung heroes.

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.”

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