Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India]: England debutant Shoaib Bashir described dismissing India skipper Rohit Sharma to claim his first Test wicket as “very very special.”
The 20-year-old spinner scalped two on the opening day of the second Test between India and England at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Bashir deceived Rohit with a quick off-spin delivery that turned sharply into the right-handed batter. Bashir forced out an edge which was taken by Ollie Pope in the backward square region in the 18th over of the game.
The 20-year-old spinner bowled 28 overs claiming two wickets while spilling away 100 runs as well. His second victim of the day was Axar Patel who tried to play a cut shot but ended up finding the fielder instead of the gap.
“If you were to tell me that two years ago, I would laugh. “It was a very special moment receiving my Test cap and for me to get Rohit Sharma as my first wicket was very, very special,” Bashir told talkSPORT as quoted from ESPNcricinfo.
“He’s a great player of spin as well. I’m just so grateful to God and my family. They’ve supported me through thick and thin. I had a lot of ups and downs in my journey, so I just want to thank them as well,” Bashir added.
Bashir missed out on England’s first Test win over India in Hyderabad due to visa issues. Due to the delay, he had to fly back to the UK after England’s training camp in Abu Dhabi concluded before the series.
“I always knew I’d get the visa. I did have a few troubles with it, but look, we’re here now and I got to make my debut and it’s such a special day. It makes it more memorable, yeah. I had a bit of trouble, bit of hassle with it but to come out to India now and make my Test debut is unbelievable,” Bashir said.
Bashir’s dream Test moment was overshadowed by Yashasvi Jaiswal who stuck a rollicking 179* to put India in firm control.
At the end of Day 1, India managed to put up 336/6 on the board with Jaiswal and Ravichandran Ashwin unbeaten on scores of 179* and 5* respectively.
