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‘Playing at home is special’

Sports Reporter

— Photo: S. Subramanium

BEATEN ALL ENDS UP: Piyush Chawla has Neil McKenzie stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Kanpur: Leg-spinner Piyush Chawla, playing just his second Test, expressed his team’s satisfaction at having restricted South Africa to 265.

“Now it will depend on our batting. It would have been nice if I had picked more wickets, but it was good we could restrict them. The wicket here is a slow turner, and it will depend on how our batsmen handle their bowlers on Saturday. There isn’t much in it for the medium-pacers, but spinners will benefit,” he said.

The decision to play him was taken 45 minutes before the match. “It is a great feeling to play my second Test, and will be better if we manage to win.”

On playing on his home ground, he said, “There is always pressure when you’re playing for India, but playing at home is very special.”

Chawla also said that Anil Kumble was missed. “We bowled well, but it would have been better with Kumble.”

Encouraging signs

Hashim Amla, who scored a half-century for South Africa, said Ishant Sharma’s wickets offered encouragement to his fast bowlers.

“Yes, there were some encouraging signs for our bowlers. The bounce was low and there were cracks that will open up a lot on Saturday. I think there will be a lot more variation in the bounce as well.”

Speaking of his own innings, he said batting on such a wicket needed plenty of patience and hard work. “You have to work hard against the spinners on these wickets and try to hang in as much as you can. It was a lot more difficult to stay, since there was a lot more turn than in any other wicket on the first day. You need to be patient as well.”

“The key is in playing the spinners as late as possible. But there are a lot of other things, like sticking to the game-plan.”

On his team’s batting and total, he said it would all come down to how the side bowls. “I don’t think there was a conscious effort to score quickly. The outfield was quick, which helped. The pitch was okay early on, though there was some tear. Spinners will come into play as the match goes. It all depends on how well we bowl, and how our bowlers respond to the pitch.”

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