Hard work pays off for Balaji
Lakshmipathy Balaji felt the Pakistan series was,
Nagraj Gollapudi in Mohali
08-Mar-2005
 |
|
Lakshmipathy Balaji felt the Pakistan series was, "the right time to come back". Balaji, who had suffered a pelvic injury during the 2004 Champions Trophy, made a confident comeback with his maiden first Test five-for during the Mohali Test. In the press conference at the end of the day's play he talked about the mental pressure, the Mohali wicket and more.
On whether the Pakistan lower-batting order made life a bit more difficult for you
Definitely, as the contribution from the lower bottom order is normally very good these days. I was just concentrating on hitting the deck, and once I started hitting it I got into my rhythm. We just had to patient. There was moisture in the first hour in the morning after which the wicket settled down; it became hard and the ball came to the bat easily. So we had to control the runs and allow the batsman to make the mistake, and that's how it worked out after lunch.
Definitely, as the contribution from the lower bottom order is normally very good these days. I was just concentrating on hitting the deck, and once I started hitting it I got into my rhythm. We just had to patient. There was moisture in the first hour in the morning after which the wicket settled down; it became hard and the ball came to the bat easily. So we had to control the runs and allow the batsman to make the mistake, and that's how it worked out after lunch.
On the enhanced seam on the new SG balls
The seam is a little bit higher than the balls we were used to. On Indian wickets we need to hit the ball hard and with the pronounced seam there will be some carry and extra movement off the wicket.
The seam is a little bit higher than the balls we were used to. On Indian wickets we need to hit the ball hard and with the pronounced seam there will be some carry and extra movement off the wicket.
On how difficult it was to make a comeback
It was a long layoff for me, as I missed out on eight Tests and two one-day series. Prior to that I never missed out any matches because of any injury, so that was disappointing. However, I took it as a challenge, worked really hard and today's result showed it paid off.
It was a long layoff for me, as I missed out on eight Tests and two one-day series. Prior to that I never missed out any matches because of any injury, so that was disappointing. However, I took it as a challenge, worked really hard and today's result showed it paid off.
On going back to his original action
That's because of the injury which was caused due to the previous action which involved a lot of twisting and scrambling. In consultation with Dennis Lillee, who had suffered a similar injury, we decided the best one would be for me to run through the crease and go towards the batsman in my followthrough.
That's because of the injury which was caused due to the previous action which involved a lot of twisting and scrambling. In consultation with Dennis Lillee, who had suffered a similar injury, we decided the best one would be for me to run through the crease and go towards the batsman in my followthrough.
On how much the good bowling of Zaheer Khan helped his performance
Both Zaheer and Pathan have been the key bowlers for India. Zaheer is a morale booster as he talks a lot on the field with me which makes me comfortable. We share a lot of a lot of bowling tips during the game. As for Pathan's scratchy perfomance, he just had a bad day.
Both Zaheer and Pathan have been the key bowlers for India. Zaheer is a morale booster as he talks a lot on the field with me which makes me comfortable. We share a lot of a lot of bowling tips during the game. As for Pathan's scratchy perfomance, he just had a bad day.