Chennai, March 20: Bouncers, yorkers and reverse swing - Ravi Rampaul used whatever he had in his armoury to get his first ODI five-for against India on Sunday in the final league match in Group B.
Rampaul, who until a couple of days back wasn’t even sure of making it into the Playing XI, dismissed India’s formidable top-order of Tendulkar, Gambhir and Kohli. He returned to claim the wickets of Yusuf Pathan and Zaheer Khan to finish with figures of 10-0-51-5.
Excerpts from an interview
On his first ODI five-for
I have worked hard for this. It feels great to get my first five-for.
On whether he had thought he would make it into the playing XI
Well, the way the West Indies bowling started, I knew I would have to wait. Unfortunately, Kemar Roach got sick and I got a call. I got my chance and did my best for the team.
On the pitch
Yeah, it certainly had a lot of bounce. You can see how the ball went straight over the keeper’s head in the first over. I wanted to bowl at my line and length. And it paid off well.
On the use of yorkers in the death overs
Yeah, we have been practicing yorkers. In the match, I thought why not try them and it worked today.
On the target of 269
Well, we definitely have to get those runs. We need to bat together and get partnerships going to chase down the total.
On the Chennai crowd
[It’s an] awesome crowd and great atmosphere.
