As the Indian team bus arrived at their hotel, there were a few anxious faces stepping out. With Australia having sealed the ODI series, the home team will be looking to regain pride in the final match on Wednesday. However, for two members in the Indian camp, the match is far from being inconsequential.
As the dark clouds created uncertainty at DY Patil Stadium, pacer Sudeep Tyagi and leggie Amit Mishra had their fingers crossed, hoping to finally make an appearance in the playing XI even as the series comes to an end.
UP pacer Tyagi is amazed with his experience of being in the Indian camp. “I still remember the first time I entered the Indian team bus — the experience was out of the world. I realised that if I have to be here longer, I need to work harder,” Tyagi says. With the Indian team packed with pacers — Ashish Nehra, Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar — it was inevitable that Tyagi had to wait for his international debut.
One of the big changes Tyagi talks about is having to take permission each time he steps out of the team hotel, but he is enjoying every moment of it. Heading back to represent his state in the Ranji Trophy, Tyagi says he would be going back with plenty of lessons learnt. “Be it Dhonibhai, Sachinpaaji or Gary, they have all been of really great help. There were certain things I didn’t know before coming here, I learnt from them. Sachin gave me few tips while Gary told me about how to prepare before any outing,” he says.
... contd.