The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : `Azhar's tips helped me'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 20, 2006

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Sport - Cricket

`Azhar's tips helped me'

Sports Reporter

Mumbai: Owais Shah missed a hundred on debut by 12 runs, but he put on crucial runs with the lower order to take his side to a score of 400. Recovering from cramps in his hands, which forced him to retire on 50 during the first day, Shah resumed an innings that bristled with positive intent.

"I was just trying to play each ball on its merit, if that comes across as aggressive so be it," said Shah. But didn't he charge the first ball he faced form Harbhajan? "Look, I realise he's a world-class bowler, but he's just bowling a ball at me. There's a reason I am playing Test cricket, and there's a reason he's playing it."

He spoke of the time Mohammad Azharuddin booked him into a hotel for ten days to help him work on his batting. "I heard Azhar was opening an academy, and I thought it would be nice to get someone else's view. I was just looking to change a few things, and I tinkered with it. When I got back to England, I just continued with it."

Shah said he had cleared his bat — the same brand Ricky Ponting had used amid some muttering for a strip of graphite — with the umpires before the innings. How did he view the state of the match? "We'd look to bowl well and ideally enforce the follow on."

Sticking to the basics

For India, S. Sreesanth finished with four wickets. "It was hard work, yes, but it was a test of character and I really enjoyed it. I looked at it as an opportunity, and stuck to the basics." What had India's bowling done differently from the first day when only three wickets fell? "I wouldn't say we did anything wrong. Can't take away anything from the English batsmen, but we stuck to our task and wow they were all out."

What about the banter between him and Shah? "It's part of the game. In the heat of battle, it's nice to have a conversation, it pumped me up." What precisely did he say? "Just cricket talk. I enjoyed it." Shah concurred when asked to corroborate.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh players R.P. Singh and Piyush Chawla, who are part of the Indian squad, have been released to represent their State in the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament final on March 21.

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