India’s rookie pacer Gurnoor Brar was more excited than nervous when he made his ODI debut against Afghanistan at Dharamshala on Saturday. On his ODI debut against Afghanistan, Brar impressed one and all with his performance. 

He returned with impressive figures of 3-27 in 4.5 overs he bowled. The lanky pacer accounted for Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi. Brar bowled consistently around 145 kmph and impressed in his maiden appearance in the Indian colors.

“Obviously, I wouldn’t say there was pressure but there was excitement…like, I have to do well for India, I have to bowl well. Obviously, everyone wants to give their best here and I was doing the same. I just had to give my best and with God’s grace it went well,” Brar said in a video shared by the BCCI.

Brar said there was a sense of relief after he picked his maiden ODI wicket at the top level.

“It’s a special feeling, like all the hard work has finally paid off, all the grind like I did in this heat…yeah it’s a special moment. (The first wicket) yeah, it’s like a milestone that you just have to cross. When that first wicket happened suddenly it brought a sense of relief like ‘now there’s no tension’,” said Brar.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill played a match-winning knock of 84 runs off just 66 balls to help India chase down 195 runs with seven wickets in hand. Furthermore, Harsh Dubey, another debutant, bagged three wickets against the visitors.

The second ODI between India and Afghanistan will be played at Lucknow on Wednesday.