Abhimanyu Mithun kept the faith showed in him by Team India think-tank, walking away as the highest wicket-taker in Sri Lanka’s first innings here on Tuesday.
The debutant was given the nod ahead of much-experienced Munaf Patel and the youngster from Karnataka did not disappoint.
At 20, he showed much more maturity than his compatriots — Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha —as he ended with figures of 4 for 105. Not bad for a guy making his debut.
“It was a great feeling to play with great players. Before the start of the match, the seniors spoke to me and said ‘everyone will try to put some pressure on me. Don’t think of it as pressure, just enjoy the moment.’ So I was enjoying every session,” he said of how he felt before taking the field on Day One.
But once he got his hand on the red cherry, he was full of confidence. And like all the debutants, who savour their first wicket or first run, Mithun too ranked the dismissal of Tillakaratne Dilshan as the most enjoyable among his four scalps. “The first wicket was the most enjoyable. I was feeling very happy. I wanted to give my best,” he said.
The right-arm pacer said that he just followed the instructions of coach Gary Kirsten and bowling coach Eric Simons, who had asked him to keep the ball in the right areas.
“Gary and Eric Simons told us to keep bowling in good areas and back your strengths. Today (Tuesday) morning, the wicket offered some help for the faster bowlers. So we tried to make the batsmen play a lot. It was a good challenge,” said Mithun, who made his first class debut in November last year.
The Bangalore-born said that his stint with the Indian team when South Africa visited the sub-continent last year, boosted his confidence. “When I was with the team during the South African Test series at home, it was a good experience for me to see the bowlers bowl and I came to know the difference between international and domestic cricket. I have kept working on that in the interim period.”
And now that he has impressed one and all with his performance in the first innings, including coach Kirsten, he is planning to extend his stay in the national squad for a long time. He also thanked his stars for getting a break quite early in his career.
“It’s good for me to start early as a fast bowler. Usually when a fast bowler starts his career, he bowls a lot at the junior level and by the time he breaks through he tends to slow down. It was good for me to start straightaway playing for India,” he said.
“I will think of what I should do and how I should work. I have the confidence and will work on my strengths and not think about anything else,” he added.
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