MOHALI, Oct 19: India leg-spinner Amit Mishra, rejected by Delhi as a teenager, gave India a real chance of seizing victory over Australia in the second Test on Sunday.

The diminutive 25-year-old grabbed five wickets on his Test debut after an injury to skipper Anil Kumble.

One of seven children of a railway employee, Mishra was ignored for Delhi’s under-16 team but found full backing in the neighbouring Haryana state for whom former all-rounder Kapil Dev played in the Ranji Trophy.

The Haryana skipper, whose early concern was getting a job, spent five years in obscurity after his first break when he was picked for a 2003 tri-series in Dhaka when the regulars were rested after the World Cup.

“The five years were difficult,” Mishra told reporters. “But I gained a lot of experience and got to talk to people about leg spin. It was good.”

He showed his skills by taking nine wickets for India ‘A’ in a losing cause against New Zealand ‘A’ this month.

Mishra said he was unfazed by the big stage or the opposition.

“I bowled like I do in the Ranji Trophy, never bothered I was bowling to any big player. I just focused on line and length.”

Mishra, who idolises champion Australian spinner Shane Warne, got advice from ex-India leg spinner Narendra Hirwani, now a national selector who gave him tips before the toss.

His success has given the selectors a headache with Kumble likely to be fit for the third Test in New Delhi starting on Oct 29.

“That is not my job,” he said. “It was a big match. I only told myself when I play I will perform, bowl for wickets.”—Reuters