Spinner Amit Mishra ends wait with dream debut

By N.Ananthanarayanan

MOHALI, India (Reuters) - 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.

Mishra tormented the Australia batsmen with accuracy, sharp turn and googlies to claim five for 71 and help bowl out the visitors for 268. India extended their overall lead to 301 on a dry pitch expected to give further assistance to the spinners.

One of seven children of a railway employee, Mishra was ignored for Delhi's under-16 team but found full backing in neighbouring Haryana 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.