WI vs IND | Making professional debut for India is scarcely believable, exclaims Navdeep Saini

Life cannot get any better for Indian pacer Navdeep Saini, who kick-started his international career with a Man of the Match performance against West Indies at Lauderhill on Saturday. The speedster, who had a breakthrough season in IPL 2019 playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, rattled the Windies with figures of 3/17 including a wicket-maiden in the last over, which lauded praise from several former cricketers and experts alike.

Recalling his experience, the Haryana pacer described the feeling as "unbelievable",  expressing happiness over making his debut for the country. 

"When I received the India cap (on Saturday morning), I could not believe that today is the day which I was waiting for. I am very happy to make the debut for India," Saini told Bhuvneshwar Kumar in an interview posted on the BCCI Twitter handle.

The 26-year-old, who got hit for a six in his very second ball in international cricket, responded in the best way possible, as he claimed the wickets of Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer in back-to-back deliveries, finding himself on a hat-trick in his very first over. Recollecting the incident, Saini explained that he grew in confidence as the match went on, claiming that he focused on taking the hat-trick after realizing what he had just done.

"My confidence was low initially as I was having pressure of making the debut. The first wicket released the pressure. Then, when I got the second wicket my confidence increased and I felt like I was playing a normal match," he said.

"When I was to bowl the hat-trick ball, I felt like 'it is something which I have been seeing others do, it is happening to me'. Then, I was focussing on how to take the wicket," he added.

But the moment of the day came in the last over of the West Indian innings, when the Delhi pacer outrageously bowled a wicket-maiden, helping his country to restrict Windies' total to just 95. In the very same over, he trapped Kieron Pollard in front after the latter missed a full-toss, and speaking about that incident, Saini said that skipper Virat Kohli convinced him to go for the review, stating that it was a win-win situation either way.

"I thought it was not out and on appeal the umpire also said not out. But Virat paji took the review, he said 'there is a review left for us and why waste it, you never know it may be out also," he spoke of the incident.

"I was not sure whether I will get that wicket. But I was so happy when Pollard was adjudged out after the review," he concluded.

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