He could barely have made a bigger impact on CAW since arriving from Melbourne, taking 20 wickets in seven outings to race up to second place on the provincial bowling charts.

And the Indian's year improved further when he got engaged to partner Aashna Hegde on the day Albury beat Belvoir at Kelly Park.

Having promised to pick up Hegde by 5pm, Bhaiya had four wickets for the day with Albury needing two more for victory as time ticked away.

"I had three overs left and Ross (Dixon, captain) went 'just bowl this over and see how we go.'" Bhaiya recalled.

"Luckily I got the fifth one and then I just ran off the ground. The team was supportive and they said 'you have to be there.'

"I told her there was a children's party back at the club, so that's when I went down on one knee."

The club threw a surprise engagement party for the pair, who have thrown themselves into life on the Border since relocating.

"These guys have gone out of their way to help us and that's a really big thing for me," Hegde said.

"I'm a family person and I would say the club is family for us now.

"I look forward to coming on Saturday and meeting everyone.

"It gives you that social security and that's really nice to have when you come to a new town.

"Cricket follows through when other things fall into place.

"They've really looked after us and that's been a big factor in helping us transition into the city easily."

Bhaiya's numbers certainly bear out his fiancee's theory.

Since taking a five-wicket haul on debut, his 20 dismissals have come at an average of 6.3, the 28-year-old operating with a strike rate of 10.8 and conceding just 3.5 runs per over.

"I definitely take pride in that but I don't think the wickets column determines how well you've bowled," Bhaiya said.

ALSO IN SPORT

"The economy, yes, I do look at that column pretty often but 10 of those wickets, if the ball lands a foot either side, you might not get it.

"I would consider this as my lucky patch.

"Wickets have never really bothered me; my effort has always been to not leak runs.

"As a group, we've accomplished certain things and when you win, cricket's much more enjoyable.

"The last few weeks have been perfect. I've tried to earn their respect and they earned mine straight away.

"It's just doing the right things; training hard, doing what was asked of me and going that extra yard.

"If you put in the effort, it's not going to go unnoticed and you're going to be looked after.

"That's the beauty of this club."

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