Todd Murphy a 22-year-old inexperienced Australian spinner has somehow found a way to keep up with the veteran spinners featuring in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. Murphy found a way to keep up with the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Nathan Lyon. He is the talking point of the latest edition of the BGT series. "Todd has that skill that he can be a defensive bowler and he can be an attacking bowler and work around pretty much whatever is required from him in the game. For such a young and inexperienced spinner... to be able to come here and handle these tough situations and perform the role that's required has been impressive," Daniel Vettori said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo
The 22-year-old was only able to pick up a single wicket in the third test match of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. His sole victim was the former Indian captain Virat Kohli, and that one wicket was enough to ensure India's downfall in the third test match. Even though Nathan Lyon got all the plaudits at the end of the match but Murphy was still the talking point for his performances in the BGT.
"I probably look to that second innings... at a time where Matty was leaking a little bit. So for him [Murphy] to do that, that's a huge role. Although he didn't get the wickets, we acknowledge that spell of bowling, the dryness that he had from his end," Vettori continued.
Murphy's performance caught the eyes of the entire world. Even his teammates were impressed with the performances that he pulled out against the experienced Indian batters. His teammates and the management were in awe of him. Australia's assistant coach Daniel Vetrori revealed that the stand-in captain Steve Smith specifically pointed out Murphy for his recent accomplishments.
"Steve Smith singled him [Murphy] out around his performances in the last Test. Obviously, Nathan and Matt got all the wickets but... his spell allowed everyone around him to take those wickets. And I think that probably embodies it, that series of balls that he's bowled to Kohli."
Australia's assistant coach Daniel Vettori emphasized the surface's role in the entire BGT series.
"That's the main challenge on these surfaces, the expectation is so high that you are going to do well [and] you are going to take a wicket every ball," "To be able to be consistent against some of the best players of spin you'll come across in these conditions and with these expectations has probably been the most impressive thing so far," Daniel Vettori continued.
India will face Australia in the final test of the BGT series on March 9 at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Gujarat.