India vs Australia | Only if I deliver, will they trust me, says Vijay Shankar

There were many heroes on Tuesday for India as the hosts successfully defended a sub-par target of 251 runs. While skipper Virat Kohli led the brigade with a terrific century in the first innings, when all others succumbed to the slow turning pitch, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Kedar Jadhav, Kuldeep Yadav, and Shankar all stepped up in the second innings.

With a low target in the first innings, the game was always going to go down to the wire and India had to take a tough call when just four overs were left and Australia needed 28 runs. Bumrah had one over remaining while Shami had two, leaving Kohli to choose between Shankar and Jadhav for the other one. And not keeping Bumrah for the penultimate over was the best decision India could have taken. After Shami bowled the 49th over and gave nine runs, Kohli showed some nerves of steel to hand the ball to Shankar and the all-rounder delivered.

"It was an opportunity to redeem myself after the expensive over I bowled. I was literally waiting for this opportunity, wanted to bowl under pressure because only if I deliver, will they trust me. I was up for the challenge. Around the 43rd over, I was telling myself that I am bowling the final over and defend the score, just prepared myself a bit," said Shankar after the match, reported Cricbuzz.

"I was preparing myself. I thought I should be mentally ready to go and bowl and defend 10 runs an over. I was just clear about what I have to do. I think those things helped me when I came onto bowl. I didn't have pressure, to be honest," he added.

Shankar was the only bowler to beat Marcus Stoinis on a day the batsman looked to have complete control over the other Indian bowlers. He was Australia’s only remaining hope in the last over after settling well in, scoring 52 off 65 balls. However, Shankar revealed that Bumrah’s advice and encouragement helped him a lot before the final over.

"When Bumrah came and told me it's reversing a bit, just trust yourself to bowl the hard length. When a top bowler like him comes and tells me... bounce also was a little low than normal wicket. To hit the right length was a challenge at that situation under pressure. Good thing is I was a little clear in the mind," Shankar said.

"It's about staying clear mentally. I wanted to just stick to the basics, hit the stumps from a hard length as there was a bit of reverse. When you play for the country, you have to be ready to do what the team needs. I always say to myself to keep working on all aspects of my game so that when the opportunity arrives, I am ready to grab it," Shankar added.

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