Debut is a special occasion for any cricketer in any format or tournament. And to do so at Eden Gardens, and then, to bowl a wicket-maiden in your first over makes it extra special. On Tuesday evening, the occasion belonged to Pat Cummins, who played his first Indian Premier League match, for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The tall Australian bowler castled Dwayne Smith, who has been instrumental in setting up wins for the Chennai Super Kings, in his first over of Pepsi IPL 2014 and gave his team a crucial breakthrough. And although he was clobbered for 16 runs by Brendon McCullum later, the 21-year-old returned to finish with figures of one for 29.

While speaking to IPLT20.com after his team’s eight-wicket victory, Cummins spoke about his dream first over that was followed by a swing in fortunes in the next and his eventual comeback in the second spell. He said that skipper Gautam Gambhir’s advice and planning helped him and the rest of the attack keep the CSK batsmen in check and restrict them to a modest total. 

Excerpts from his interview:

On the dream first over

Yes, fortunately it was a wicket-maiden – couldn’t have dreamt of that. It really helped me get off to a good start.

On Dwayne Smith’s dismissal

Yes, I was lucky. You are always trying to bowl balls like that and it is very rare that you do. So you have to appreciate it, and I hope that I will be able to bowl them on demand.

On conceding 16 runs in his second over and making a comeback in the second spell

You have to stay in the moment and not worry about what happened in your first spell and just try and do whatever you want to do later in the innings. So I was just trying to keep it tight. I spoke to Gauti (Gautam Gambhir) and we worked out a plan, and fortunately, it came off well for all our bowlers tonight.

On Gambhir’s advice

It is a pretty slow wicket here at Eden Gardens, so we were just trying to mix it up a little with a few slower balls.

On working with Wasim Akram

He has been great. He works with me a lot in the nets. He was a white-ball bowler in the subcontinent and he has been the best there was. The way he swings the ball, holds the ball and plans games, you can learn a lot from him. It’s good to have him around.

He says that you have to take wickets and try and slow down the runs. But if you notice that you are not getting wickets and it is a good wicket and a quick outfield, you have to work out the batsman, tie the batsman up and not give away too many runs, and hopefully, wickets will come that way.

On sharing the dressing room with Morne Morkel

We have had a couple of good sessions. It’s good to work together and get his thoughts on the way he bowls the slower balls and the way he mixes up his lengths. The whole side has been really good.

On playing at Eden Gardens

It’s been amazing. I have heard a lot about the stadium, and especially in our second innings, when we were getting close to our target, those Mexican waves were great and KKR chants were probably the loudest that I have ever heard.

On the IPL experience and KKR

It has been amazing. It was good in Dubai, but here it is a whole different level. There are crowds waiting outside your bus before you leave and the fans at the stadium are incredible.

In the middle of the season, it could have gone either way, but the boys have really done well. It is five wins in a row now and it is an incredible effort. We have peaked at the right time.