London, July 23: After a forgettable series against Sri Lanka, England pacer Stuart Broad was under pressure to justify his selection over Tim Bresnen for the series against India. Claiming a four-for in his first outing in the first Test, Broad struck some much-needed form right at the start of the landmark 100th series between the sides.
Excerpts from an end of day media-interaction:
On the whether he was relieved after his four-for performance today
It was a good team performance today, we [were able to] build pressure. On a personal note, to pick up four wickets was pleasing and [that too] to pick wickets at the top of the order.
On the wickets
With the length that suits me, I bowled a little bit fuller today. I think that came about with bringing a cover fielder in, still keeping my three slips but losing the gully. So [it] allowed me to go just a little bit fuller [in length] without the worry of getting driven for four. From the wickets you could see [the bat caught] the edges so that was a deliberate plan.
On whether getting Sachin Tendulkar’s wicket was special
Very much, I got Sachin once in Bangalore and the whole ground went silent. It was a little bit bigger cheer at Lord’s. He played very well for his 34 [runs].
On the dropped catches of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman off his bowling
They said sorry but those were quite critical moments of the game when we put those two down. When you drop Laxman and Dravid, it can hurt you. But bowling as a unit we got India for 290 [286 runs]. Tomorrow [we will] try to get a strong lead and hope to swing in the fourth innings.
On whether the performance boosted his confidence and morale after a not-so-good series against Sri Lanka
Pretty much so. I went back to take those four wickets which any bowler would say helps your confidence. I was running well today, I had a good rhythm, I hit the crease hard and hopefully I can continue that throughout the second innings and also throughout the series.
