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'Dismissed Steve Smith 5-6 times on first day itself. Ashwin hugged me and asked...': India spinner's 'duplicate'
While Mahesh Pithiya revealed how he outfoxed champion batter Steve Smith on the first day itself, the youngster could not hide his excitement of meeting Ravichandran Ashwin and being at the receiving end of a surprise gesture from Virat Kohli.
R Ashwin, without a shadow of a doubt, will be one of Australia's biggest threats in the upcoming Test series against India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting Thursday. And to make themselves better equipped against the spin king, Australia have opted to practice on spin-friendly pitches and reached out to Mahesh Pithiya, the duplicate 'Ashwin', for assistance. Mahesh, 21, has an uncanny resemblance with Ashwin, his action to be more precise and hence, it was no surprise as to why Australia made Mahesh one of their travelling net bowlers.
Mahesh, who has been in the limelight over the last one week, on Tuesday enjoyed a dream-come-true moment when he met his 'idol' during the teams' practice sessions at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. While the youngster revealed how he outfoxed champion batter Steve Smith on the first day itself, Mahesh could not hide his excitement of meeting Ashwin and being at the receiving end of a surprise gesture from Virat Kohli.
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"I had got Smith out 5-6 times in the nets on first day. Today I got blessings from my idol. I have always wanted to bowl like him. When I am met him as he was entering the nets, I touched his feet and sought his blessings. He hugged me and then asked what exactly am I bowling to the Australians. Virat Kohli also smiled at me and gestured thumbs up and wished me luck," Mahesh told PTI.
Mahesh, who went unsold at the IPL auction in December, says his current goal is to cement his place in Baroda's Ranji Trophy team. Like his role-model, Mahesh too has a bag of tricks up his sleeve, and admitted that training with the likes of Smith, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and other Australian has been a game-changing experience of his life
"I don't bowl carrom ball or doosra. My stock ball is off break and another ball that I have myself developed is one that has a bit of backspin in it. But I bowl that in white-ball cricket," he pointed out. "It has been amazing to work with this Australian side. My job is to mainly bowl to Steve Smith at Australia nets. He didn't ask me to bowl anything specific."
Mahesh even received certain valuable inputs from Nathan Lyon, and as long as he is around till the end of the second Test in Delhi, the young spinner wants to soak in ever bit of suggestion, learnings and advices that come his way.
"Lyon first asked me to show my grip and explain what I do while rolling my fingers. He then explained how I can get more revs (rotation) on the ball and also how my front leg (left) should land. He told me to have confidence in my ability. I am there with the team till February 17. It has been a life changer for me," Mahesh added.
