MIRPUR: Surprised to find his name among the top-10 bowling performances of all time after breaking Anil Kumble’s 21-year-old record, Indian all-rounder Stuart Binny said seaming conditions played a huge role in his haul of 6/4 against Bangladesh here.
Binny’s brilliant performance helped India defend a meager 105 against the hosts, who were let down by their batsmen after a fine show by the bowlers. The Indians now have a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
“My strength is to bowl wicket-to-wicket and swing the ball. The conditions were ideal to bowl so I don’t think I surprised myself but to be in the top-10 in the world is surprising,” said Binny, who broke Kumble’s record of 6/12 against the West Indies in Hero Cup final back in 1993.
The burly Karnataka all-rounder said that the team was always confident of restricting Bangladesh for under 105.
“We never thought we were out of the game. When we went into the break we were disappointed with the way we batted,” Binny said.
“But it’s important that we had a good chat during the break and went out and bowled in good areas because the wicket was doing something and if we were going to struggle to bat on that wicket, I think it was going to be difficult for them as well.
“We just knew if we got a few wickets up front and if they were three down in the first seven-eight overs, we could go through and push and get a victory,” the 29-year-old said.
Interestingly, Binny stated that the length that Bangladesh bowlers employed gave them a cue.
“Credit must be given to their bowlers. We (the India bowlers) fed off their line and lengths. They bowled stump to stump.”
Binny gave credit to the bowling coach, Joe Dawes, who had drilled the bowlers to concentrate on their accuracy.
“It’s important from where you start the ball when you’re swinging it. The ball was swinging but in the first over I bowled a bit wide and it went outside off stump. I think what we did yesterday was try and bowl on middle stump and when we get conditions like this, it’s important not to (try too many things).”
Binny said that he decided to stick to the basics just like he does for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy.
“We generally bowl on wickets that help us a bit [at home for Karnataka]. One-day cricket is a bit different with the white ball, it tends to swing initially, but on this ground it was a bit heavy so we just maintained the ball and bowled good areas.
“I remember Robin (Uthappa, his Karnataka team-mate) telling me to bowl the lengths (which we use) in four-day cricket back home.”
Binny feels that on conditions where the ball swings, the batsmen need to stay positive.
“From a batsman’s perspective, it was a wicket where you needed to be a bit positive. The ball was seaming a bit. It was under the covers during the rain delay and there was sweating. It was a bit damp. The spikes were getting stuck, so we knew it was going to do a bit.
“But again to score runs on a wicket like this, you have to play shots and take a chance somewhere. Even Umesh (Yadav’s) 12-14 runs were crucial. Bowlers are going to be on top on wickets like this, but it’s also important that the batsman can get as many runs as possible.” –PTI
