Matthew Kuhnemann decimated the Indian batting order earlier today on the opening day of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2023. Despite not being part of the original squad selected by Australia for this series, he made an immediate and lasting impression upon his arrival.
The slow left-arm bowler made his Test debut at Arun Jaitley Stadium against India on February 17, 2023. In his debut Test match, he took the wicket of India's most renowned batsmen, Virat Kohli and Mohammed Shami. The third Test match of the Border Gavaskar trophy was his second Test career match and he continued to impress by taking the wickets of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav.
The rookie spinner finished with remarkable figures of 5/16 after his nine-over spell, helping India to be all out for 109 runs.
Ashton Agar was the premier left-arm spin-bowling option in the Australian squad named for the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series. Not only is he a talented bowler, but he is also capable of making a significant contribution with the bat.
Despite his impressive credentials, the Australian team management opted to leave Agar out of the playing XI for the first Test, instead selecting Matthew Kuhnemann as a replacement for Mitchell Swepson ahead of the second Test.
Hailing from the Gold Coast, Kuhnemann made his List-A debut for Cricket Australia XI against New South Wales in Sydney in October 2017. The 26-year-old has also represented the Australia Under-19 team and took 35 wickets in Queensland’s Premier Cricket competition during the 2015-16 season. In his sole List-A match, Kuhnemann claimed the wicket of Kurtis Patterson and took a catch to dismiss Peter Nevill.
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On June 16, 2022, Matthew Kuhnemann made his ODI debut at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium against Sri Lanka. In a remarkable performance, the slow left-arm bowler bowled 10 overs and took two wickets for just 42 runs. His last ODI match was against Sri Lanka at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, where he again bowled 10 overs and gave away only 26 runs while claiming two wickets.
“I was heading to Kandy, I had to get transported there, did not have a clue on whether I was going to be in the playing XI or not," Kuhnemann recalled his ODI debut in a chat with cricket.com.
Matthew Kuhnemann took the catch to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja today, and the left-arm spinner has looked to the senior Indian all-rounder for inspiration to improve his bowling. In a recent interview with cricket.com, Kuhnemann was asked about the spinner he admires most.
“I think Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja’s had success all around the world now. He sort of has adapted his game to suit the conditions," Kuhnemann replied.
Coming to the match, there is still a long way to go before a conclusion is reached, with potential twists and turns. However, Australia demonstrated on Wednesday that they have rediscovered the qualities that made them so successful, such as their courage to never give up or surrender. In their revival, they have also injected life into what was becoming an overwhelmingly one-sided series. They had a plethora of heroes, from Smith and Kuhnemann to Lyon and Khawaja.
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