West Indies:<\/b> Almost a month after a chastening ODI debut, where he gave away 82 runs against the West Indies in New Chandigarh, Anshul Kamboj made sure his second outing in the format would be remembered for the right reasons. The Haryana seamer strangled New Zealand\u2019s batters at Eden Park on Wednesday, as he picked 2-22 in his ten overs, including bowling 46 dot balls.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kamboj\u2019s spell was one of the reasons behind India bowling out New Zealand out for 185 in 40.2 overs. He was subsequently named Player of the Match in India\u2019s five-wicket win by the DLS method in the series opener at Eden Park.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked on bouncing back after not having a great ODI debut, where he arrived rushingly as Prasidh Krishna\u2019s replacement, Kamboj said the desire to do better drove him to put up a masterly spell in Auckland.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cBasically, if someone has a bad match, it doesn\u2019t decide whether someone\u2019s career is going to be good or bad. I was doing the same thing from the beginning and I am still doing the same thing. So, one match going bad didn\u2019t affect me much. I just got the motivation to do better,\u201d he said in the post-match press conference.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked about the outside noise after his Test debut against England at Manchester last year didn\u2019t go well, Kamboj added, \u201cActually, I don\u2019t pay much attention to these things. I focus more on my cricket and see how I can improve it. I don\u2019t pay attention to what people think about me or what they say about me. So, it doesn\u2019t make much difference to me.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Introduced as first change, Kamboj was the pick of India\u2019s four pacers. He got the skid and utilised extra bounce on offer to keep a tight grip on the middle overs. It resulted in him removing New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner and Nathan Smith.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cActually, today\u2019s wicket was a little seaming one. But it was also necessary that you have to put it on a good length. Only then you will get a purchase from the wicket. Otherwise, if you miss the length, you can get hit for runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo, I was trying to put it in as many good areas as possible. I didn\u2019t think much about the result because there was a lot of purchase on the wicket if you were bowling in the right area,\u201d he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
While Kamboj built the pressure, Arshdeep Singh (4-70) and Gurnoor Brar (3-44) cashed in at the other end, sharing seven wickets between them. New Zealand were in danger of collapsing for far less before a 39-run last-wicket stand between Blair Tickner and Jacob Duffy, the highest partnership of the innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kamboj said his job was simply to hold one end. \u201cIf someone is bowling well from one end, then the wicket is bound to come from the other end. So, that\u2019s it - keep putting as much pressure as possible. If they are stuck, then keep them stuck for a longer period of time.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cDon\u2019t give them easy boundaries or easy runs because if you don\u2019t give them easy runs, then they will play a wrong shot in order to get runs. They will do something. So, that\u2019s it - I wasn\u2019t thinking much. I was just thinking about bowling in better areas because they were obviously getting out from the other end. So, I didn\u2019t need to try much.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Nor Kamboj was bothered by Eden Park\u2019s famously short boundaries. \u201cBasically, there are such small grounds in India as well. So, dimensions don\u2019t make much difference. When you look at the wicket, you look at what you have to do on the wicket and not at the dimensions. Dimensions come when there is no purchase on the wicket. Then dimensions come in the game.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After two rain interruptions, India were set a revised target of 143 in 32 overs. Virat Kohli\u2019s 74 off 51 balls took them home in 22.4 overs and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Kamboj, also a handy batter, said preparation was the key to his confidence.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIf you come well prepared, then obviously you will get confidence. So, just prepare yourself as well as you can so that there is no surprise in the match. Just be ready for everything.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On juggling both skills, he kept it simple. \u201cThe role of an all-rounder is that if you have a ball in your hand, you are a bowler. If you have a bat in your hand, you are a batsman. So, that\u2019s it. So, you just have to focus on these things. You don\u2019t have to focus on bowling while batting. You don\u2019t have to focus on batting while bowling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo, that\u2019s the focus. When you have a bat in your hand, you only think about batting. When you have a ball in your hand, you only think about bowling. As such, you just have to improve your batting. If you have a bowling, you just have to improve your bowling.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
On juggling both skills, he kept it simple. \u201cThe role of an all-rounder is that if you have a ball in your hand, you are a bowler. If you have a bat in your hand, you are a batsman. So, that\u2019s it. So, you just have to focus on these things. You don\u2019t have to focus on bowling while batting. You don\u2019t have to focus on batting while bowling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n