‘One good match will turn it around’

Munaf Patel is down with a sore left ankle, while Sehwag nurses a finger gash, but Zaheer is bubbling with confidence

Snap morning showers today forced the Indian team to rush across from the lush, green Newlands stadium to the indoor facilities of the University of Cape Town — only to come under a cloud of a different kind.

Their young bowling spearhead Munaf Patel was today forced to sit out of practice with a “sore left ankle” that flared up during the Durban one-dayer. With Sehwag too preferring to keep away from some serious fielding routines, to help his finger gash get better, India now hope that both recover in time for the Sunday one-dayer against South Africa here.

The good news, though, is comeback man Zaheer Khan has picked up on confidence tremendously after the superb strike against South Africa skipper Graeme Smith — the sharp in-cutter had Smith falling over to be caught plumb in front.

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Buoyed by that wicket, Zaheer today spent some time before the cameras, looking back on the pain of being dropped and then mapping the road ahead.

Excerpts:

Comeback game & Graeme Smith

• If you get an early breakthrough, it helps calm down the nerves, I was playing after 8 months, and that pressure was always there. Initially, I was a bit tentative, but Graeme Smith’s wicket helped. I started bowling even better. Now that the first game has gone, hopefully, it will be helpful for me to build on this performance.

County stint & beyond

• The county season (Worcestershire) really helped me a lot in terms of my match fitness and rhythm. Many senior players advised me earlier that the county season will help me grow as a cricketer, grow as a bowler, and it has. I’ve felt it in my bowling and in the way I am carrying myself on the field.

Tough being out

• Playing at the highest level is very important. When you are at your peak, you want to make the most of it and that’s what I was missing. I sat down, analysed things, went to play the county season. Now that I am back in the Indian side, I’m looking forward to it and am completely focused on my game.

Batting failure means bowling pressure?

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• Not really, I think in the past we’ve been playing well, the batters have been doing well. In the last tour of South Africa, if you see, (Virender) Sehwag got a brilliant hundred in the firsts game. I think it’s just a matter of time, one good match and everything will turn around. Hopefully, the next game will be good for our batters, it’s a matter of one win.

And the right length

• From my past experience here, you have to learn to strike the right length. You should not pitch it too full up, or get carried away and pitch short. You have to find that right length in between.