KS Bharat, the man
behind the stumps on the third day of the ongoing Test match between New Zealand and India, has revealed that he had only 12 minutes
to get ready after being asked to guard the wickets. Bharat, a seasoned first class cricketer, was on Saturday asked to keep the wickets instead of Wriddhiman Saha, who complained of stiffness in his neck. 

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In a video posted on
BCCI TV, Bharat said, “I was doing my
morning routine and then the support staff told me to get ready. I only had 12
minutes to get set for the game.”

Bharat was seen conversing
with India’s spin duo Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin after
the end of the day’s play. The youngster’s performance was solid for majority of the game
and put a good impression in front of the home crowd.

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Bharat had to keep the wickets on an uneasy pitch which has variable bounce, with the ball either
staying too low or bouncing off the cracks on the pitch.

The 28-year-old has plenty
of time to make a name for himself in the Men in Blue’s dressing room. He displayed sharp reflexes for the two magnificent catches he took to dismiss Will Young and Ross Taylor, showing the uneven bounce did not trouble him.

About Ashwin’s bowling
for Young’s dismissal, Bharat said, “I knew the time I walked in that the ball
is keeping low, so the best chance is to be behind the ball and keep making
adjustments.”

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About the dismissal of
Tom Bundell, Patel, who finished with his fifth Test fifer in his seventh innins, said, “Tom was playing defensive, so I switched to
low-arm bowling. Such type of delivery won’t give time to batter to prepare for
anything, and I just got him,”