It was a fine moment for fast bowler Siddarth Kaul as he finally made his India debut 11 years after his maiden first-class match.

The pacer was rewarded for his consistent performance in domestic cricket and in the IPL for Sunrisers Hyderabad for whom he took 21 wickets fromm 17 matches this season.

Kaul was at his best on his debut against Ireland in the second T20 on Friday. Here is an analysis of his India debut.

STATISTICS

OVERS: 2

RUNS CONCEDED: 4

WICKETS: 1

ECONOMY: 2

30 SECOND REPORT

Ireland in white-ball cricket are the not the greatest team but they aren’t the worst either with some veterans of English domestic cricket in the mix. Kaul brought out all his variations to bamboozle the batsmen, with his knuckle ball proving almost impossible to pick. He only got to bowl two overs as every Indian bowler cashed in to bowl Ireland out for 70 chasing 214.

GOT RIGHT

Kaul’s knuckle balls were a delight to watch. Opener James Shannon missed the ball by miles in the pacer’s second over and in trying to attack the 28-year-old, got a top edge off an attempted pull and was caught at covers. If ever a wicket was earned in T20 cricket, that was it. Kaul has made life difficult for the best in the world in the IPL and Ireland simply got a taste of what we already know – that Kaul is a top-class white-ball bowler.

GOT WRONG

While he bowled brilliantly for his wicket, it almost wasn’t. TV replays suggested his foot was just about behind the line and the third umpire could have easily adjudged it a no-ball. That would have not only robbed Kaul off his maiden wicket but also resulted in a free hit. The pressure wasn’t on India, therefore such indiscretions didn’t matter. But such indiscipline can cost a team big time in a crunch game.

VERDICT: 8/10

Was almost perfect in the two overs he bowled. Didn’t waste any time in bringing out his variations. Showed he has enough pace to hurry the batsmen on a slow pitch as well. Adds another dimension to India’s rich pace bowling arsenal and will keep regular seamers on their toes as Kaul has more than a decade of first-class cricket under his belt as well.