5 things you need to know about Matthew Kuhnemann, the rookie spinner who wrecked India in Indore

Matthew Kuhnemann destroyed the Indian batting lineup earlier today on the opening day of the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series 2023. He was not even in the original squad picked by Australia for this series, but he came in late and made an instant impact.

Kuhnemann made his Test debut at the Arun Jaitley Stadium last month. He scalped two wickets in that game, including the prized wicket of Virat Kohli. The left-arm spinner continued his top form in the Indore Test today to record his maiden five-wicket haul.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Umesh Yadav were Matthew Kuhnemann's five victims at the Holkar Cricket Stadium. The rookie spinner ended with dream figures of 5/16 after his nine-over spell. India were all out for 109 runs, courtesy of his brilliant bowling.

Not many fans knew about Matthew Kuhnemann before Australia's ongoing tour of India. On that note, here are five things you need to know about the left-arm spinner.

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#1 Australia preferred Matthew Kuhnemann over Ashton Agar

Marsh One Day Cup - TAS v WA (Image: Getty)

Ashton Agar was the number one left-arm spin-bowling option in the Australian squad named for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 series. He is also capable of contributing his bit in the batting department.

However, the Australian team management did not select him in the playing XI for the first Test. They drafted in Matthew Kuhnemann as a replacement for Mitchell Swepson in the squad ahead of the second Test.

Kuhnemann made the cut to the playing XI ahead of Agar, who has the experience of playing five Test matches, for the second Test. Soon after, Agar was sent home, and he is now playing in the Marsh One-Day Cup.

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#2 Matthew Kuhnemann played 4 ODIs against Sri Lanka last year

Sri Lanka v Australia - 2nd ODI (Image: Getty)

Kuhnemann received his maiden Test cap last month against India, but his ODI debut was last year against Sri Lanka. He played four ODIs in that five-match series, picking up six wickets at an economy rate of 5.02.

Despite being the second-highest wicket-taker for Australia in that series, Kuhnemann never played an ODI after the Sri Lanka tour.

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#3 Kuhnemann's maiden first-class wicket was Tim Paine

Sheffield Shield - VIC v QLD: Day 3 (Image: Getty)

Kuhnemann made his first-class debut for Queensland in a match against Tasmania two years ago. His maiden first-class wicket was the-then Australian skipper Tim Paine.

Tim handed the left-arm spinner a catch off his own bowling when he was on 20. It was the only wicket Kuhnemann took on his first-class debut.

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#4 His debuts have always been last-minute calls

Kuhnemann's ODI and Test debuts were last-minute calls. As mentioned earlier, he was a last-minute replacement for Mitchell Swepson in the ongoing series against India.

Similarly, he was not picked in the original squad for the ODIs against Sri Lanka last year but made the cut as a replacement for Ashton Agar.

“I was heading to Kandy, I had to get transported there, did not have a clue on whether I was going to be in the playing XI or not," Kuhnemann recalled his ODI debut in a chat with cricket.com.

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#5 He looks up to Ravindra Jadeja

While Matthew Kuhnemann took the catch to dismiss Ravindra Jadeja today, the left-arm spinner has looked up to the senior Indian all-rounder to improve his bowling. In the same chat with cricket.com, Kuhnemann was asked about the spinner that he looked up to.

“I think Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja’s had success all around the world now. He sort of has adapted his game to suit the conditions," Kuhnemann replied.

Apart from Jadeja, Kuhnemann also took the names of Axar Patel and Nathan Lyon as the bowlers whom he observed closely.