Australia vs India 2018: Khaleel Ahmed Learning the Ropes on His Maiden Australia Tour

Indian left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed is learning every day on his maiden tour to Australia and is getting much-needed help from his senior teammate Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, he is hopeful that India will win the third T20I game to draw the series.

Moreover, the T20I series so far has been a mixed bag for the 20-year-old. He took two crucial wickets in the second T20I game after been hammered in the first match. India arrived in Australia less than a week before the series opener. However, it is difficult to adjust to the hard and bouncy pitch in quick time.

“Conditions are different here. Against the West Indies or in Asia Cup, we played in the subcontinent and in familiar grounds. When you come to Australia, there weren’t many practice sessions and it isn’t easy to figure out which line/length is the best option here,” Khaleel Ahmed said.

“So it isn’t easy to come and play here. If you don’t have ample practice sessions and then suddenly play T20 matches where batsmen own the game, it is a bit difficult. And you cannot even get relaxed against a team like Australia because they fight until the end as their lower order showed today.” he added.

In addition to, Khaleel Ahmed opened the bowling attack with Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the second game. He impressed everyone by removing the left-hander D’Arcy Short and the dangerman Chris Lynn. His figures turned out to be 4-0-39-2.

“I have learnt a lot in the past few months, especially how to prepare for a game and how seriously you need to take this profession. I have learnt three things – professionalism, maturity and responsibility from the senior bowlers and support staff.” the left arm pacer further added.

Furthermore, Khaleel had bowled an excellent delivery to remove D Arcy Short

He delivered a good length delivery where Short just wanted to blast it away but ended up getting a thick inside edge that crashed onto the sticks. Moreover, he shared the new ball with his partner Bhuvneshwar and the duo shared four wickets to wreck the Australian top-order.