The Hindu : Sport : I was a bit nervous: McCullum

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Saturday, Apr 19, 2008
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I was a bit nervous: McCullum

Bangalore: Brendon McCullum admitted to a touch of nerves in the beginning of his unbeaten 158 here at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The Kolkata Knight Riders’ opener said: “Yes I was a touch nervous in the beginning. The ball did a bit and the occasion did get to me. To play in front of such crowds, to play with and against great cricketers did make me nervous, but I wanted to prove that I belong amidst them. I am happy with the way I played.”

His coach John Buchanan lavished praise.

“McCullum played a fantastic innings. There was a bit for the fast bowlers and he did well to play the kind of innings he did. I am happy with the team performance, the way they batted in terms of partnerships, the way they bowled and the fielding was good. Everyone backed each other. I am glad that we got this important game out of our way,” Buchanan said.

Royal Challengers’ skipper Rahul Dravid was equally profuse in his praise of McCullum’s innings.

“It was just one of those days when we got beaten by a brilliant innings and when the ball keeps flying over your head, you can look a bit silly. It was an outstanding innings. But I believe in my team… it is a good team and there is a lot of ability in it and you are not going to run into an innings like the one McCullum played every other day.

“I think while chasing we tried a bit too hard early on, but we will learn from this,” Dravid said. — Principal Correspondent

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