The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Panesar ‘frightened’ of facing the Indians

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Panesar ‘frightened’ of facing the Indians

Kumble praises the spinner

Panesar had Tendulkar as the first scalp of his Test career
He now has 65 wickets from 17 matches

London: Despite having claimed a number of top batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar as his victims, England spin magician Monty Panesar says he “feels like a baby” and is “frightened” of facing India in the Test series beginning next week.

Panesar had Tendulkar as his first scalp of his Test career which has fetched 65 wickets from 17 matches, including six hauls of five or more, an effort which has catapulted him up to joint sixth in the world rankings.

“As a spinner I feel like I’m still a baby. Playing India is exciting, but it’s also frightening,” Panesar said at his home club ‘Luton Town and Indians’.

Real test

“They tend to play spin on the height of the ball and they’re very quick at judging length on trajectory, very quick to move on to the back foot, and very wristy and nimble. It’s a real test to see whether you can apply pressure.”

The 25-year-old Panesar, the first Sikh to play for England, has developed the knack of dismissing quality players but said the series against the sub-continent giant was the toughest challenge of his career so far.

“From a spinner’s point of view it will be tough. You go to India, where the ball turns, and it’s tough. Play them in England, where the ball doesn’t turn as much, and it’s going to be even tougher. Put it this way: I hope the sun shines,” he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.

Battle with Tendulkar

However, it would be interesting to watch out for his battle with Tendulkar, who signed — “once in a blue moon, never again” — on the ball which Panesar used to scalp him in his maiden Test at Nagpur last year. “When you play against such great players, that’s the impact they have on you. The energy comes out and you’re just flying,” he said.

Meanwhile, veteran spinner Anil Kumble has lavished praise on Panesar, saying he had quickly picked up nuances of spin bowling since his debut 18 months ago.

“From the start, I liked him — he was steady, bowled with good control and he maintained attacking lines. And in the 18 months since then, you can see he has picked up the nuances of spin bowling very quickly,” Kumble was quoted as saying by the Daily Mirror on Friday.

Match winner

Kumble said it was no surprise that Panesar was already a match-winner for his team.

“It is no surprise to me that he has already been a match-winner for England more than once, and I’m 100 per cent sure he has a long and successful Test career ahead of him. .” — PTI

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