Legendary English batsman Kevin Pietersen was known for his reckless strokeplay during his international career. Hardly any bowler is spared from Kevin Pietersen as he always looked to score runs at a quick pace.
Veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla recalled one such day when Pietersen treated him like a rag. 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 took 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 home Test series during February-March 2006.
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Piyush Chawla recalls the moment Kevin Pietersen made him look foolish
Piyush Chawla was picked for the second Test of the series at Mohali. But he had a forgettable debut as Kevin Pietersen greeted him with a flurry of hard-swept sweeps and sweeps. The leg-spinner bowled 13 balls to Kevin Pietersen and three of them landed on the boundaries. Pietersen used the sweep shot to perfection to disrupt the youngster’s line and length.
During a ‘2 Sloggers’ podcast on YouTube, Chawla recalled the time and stated 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 everything changed after just one innings.
“The way everyone supported me. It’s very important for a youngster coming into the team to get support from the seniors. In my first Test match, Pietersen hit me in different parts of the field and then said, ‘Whether it’s Shane Warne or a 17-year-old, I bat this way’. That experience was like ‘welcome to international cricket’,” Chawla revealed during the podcast.
“I almost got five wickets in every second match of domestic cricket. It looked like things were going to be 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 of the innings. However, the leg-spinner made a good comeback in the second innings and took 1-8 in 5 overs. Andrew Flintoff became his first Test wicket.
Support from major Indian players
Chawla further mentioned how senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni reached out to him and provided support.
“Sachin Paaji came. Viru Bhai spoke to me in his own way. Then Yuvi Paaji and Mahi Bhai came. I can’t say they were friends because they were very old people,” the 35-year-old added.
While Piyush Chawla scored runs in the first innings, another Indian debutant Munaf Patel had a memorable Test match. Munaf caught everyone’s attention with his high pace and took the wickets of Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Liam Plunkett in the first innings.
Munaf took 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 ended up winning the match by 9 wickets in the end.
