Piyush Chawla reveals how Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni helped him after Kevin Pietersen's assault on Test debut

Legendary England batter Kevin Pietersen was known for his swashbuckling strokeplay in his international career. There is hardly a bowler Kevin Pietersen spared as he always looked to score runs at a brisk pace.

Veteran legspinner Piyush Chawla remembered one of those days when he was taken to the cleaners by Pietersen. Interestingly it was Piyush Chawla's debut Test match that made his experience rather forgettable.

Chawla was just 17 when he made his Test debut. He had a great Ranji Trophy in the 2005-06 season, where he picked up 35 wickets and also scored 224 runs with the bat. His exploits helped Uttar Pradesh win the Ranji Trophy that season. Chawla also earned his India call-up for the Test series at home during February-March 2006.

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Piyush Chawla recalls the time when Kevin Pietersen took him to the cleaners

Piyush Chawla was picked for the second Test of the series in Mohali. But he had a forgettable debut as Kevin Pietersen greeted him with a flurry of sweeps and slog-sweeps. The legspinner bowled 13 balls to Kevin Pietersen and three out of them were hit for boundaries. Pietersen used the sweep shot to perfection to disrupt the line and length of the youngster.

During a podcast '2 Sloggers' on YouTube, Chawla remembered the time and claimed that despite going for runs, senior members of the team backed him. He also revealed that before coming to international cricket, the red-ball format seemed to be an easy format but it all changed after just one innings.

"The way everyone backed me. It's very important for a youngster who has just walked into the side to get support from the seniors. In my first Test match, Pietersen hit me to different parts of the ground and gave a statement after that: 'Whether it is Shane Warne or a 17-year-old kid, I bat this way'. That experience was like 'welcome to international cricket'," Chawla revealed during the podcast.

"I almost had a five-wicket haul in every second match in domestic cricket. It appeared like things were very easy, but when I played my first Test, I realised why international cricket is so difficult," the 35-year-old added.

Piyush Chawla went wicketless in his first Test innings and gave away 45 runs in 9 overs. In terms of economy rate, he was easily the most expensive bowler in the innings. However, the legspinner made a good comeback in the second innings picking up 1-8 in 5 overs. Andrew Flintoff became his first Test wicket.

Support by India's senior players

Chawla further mentioned how senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, and MS Dhoni came up to him and provided him the support.

“Sachin paaji came. Viru bhai talked to me in his own way. Then Yuvi paaji and Mahi bhai. I can't say they were friends because they were very seniors,” the 35-year-old added.

While Piyush Chawla went for runs in the first innings, another fellow debutant from India Munaf Patel had a memorable Test match. Munaf caught the attention of everyone with his high pace and picked up the wickets of Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff, and Liam Plunkett in the first innings.

Munaf picked up 3-72 in England's first innings but was even better in the second innings. He finished with 4-25 in England's second innings. India went on to win the match by 9 wickets in the end.