Magical Mishra makes his mark for India

Mumbai: Amit Mishra has stayed in the shadows of his peers for long. You would be surprised to know that the leg spinner made his India debut in 2003. And still after 13 years of international career, the leggie has only managed 20 Tests and 36 ODIs.

Mishra has always been in and around of the Indian cricket team, but has been unable to cement his place. In the early part of his career, he was sidelined by prominent peers like Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The emergence of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t help his case much either.

But on Saturday evening in Visakhapatnam, Mishra looked readier than ever to make his mark at the international level. The bowler claimed five Kiwi wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for a mere 79. The bowler finished with 15 wickets in the series and helped India win it 3-2. He won the Man of the Match and Man of the Series award, a stupendous achievement for any bowler.

Mishra boasts an impressive bowling record in the domestic circuit. The bowler has bagged over 500 wickets in first-class cricket. He has also been a consistent wicket-taker in the IPL.

Domestic record means very little if you are unable to translate that form to the international stage. However, it looks like Mishra has finally been successful in shrugging off the inconsistency that has marred his career.

We hope it’s not the case of too little too late as the 33-year-old became the oldest Indian spinner to take five-wicket haul in ODIs. Previous record was held by Sachin Tendulkar, who took five wickets against Pakistan at the age of 31.

A traditional leg-spinner is always seen as a liability in limited overs cricket. They have this bad habit of tossing up the ball and refuse to bowl flat. With bats becoming broader and boundaries becoming shorter, a leg spinner in the shorter format has become an equivalent of a run-machine.

The leggie not only played the role of wicket taker for MS Dhoni in the ODI series, but also proved to be a tough customer for the Kiwi batsmen, as far as scoring runs is concerned. However, we are sure Mishra would be happier about his ability to take regular wickets.

Ashwin has emerged as India’s main strike bowler in the recent past. There was a slight concern regarding who will lead the inexperienced Indian bowling attack when the selectors decided to rest Ashwin for the ODI series. Mishra saw it as an opportunity.

The leggie not only emerged as the leader of the bowling attack but has also proved his credentials as India’s strike bowler in ODIs.

Mishra also justified the selectors' stand to rest Jadeja and Ashwin for the ODI series. He may not have been India’s first-choice but the bowler has done enough to send a strong signal to his competitors.

At 33, Mishra does not have much cricket left ahead of him. But by winning the ODI series for India, when the whole narrative revolved around Virat Kohli, the bowler has truly made his mark at the international level.