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I was comfortable out there: Strauss

Nandita Sridhar

The wicket will start taking turn soon, says Harbhajan Singh

— Photo: K.R. Deepak

AN OPPONENT’S PRAISE: Centurion Andrew Strauss acknowledged that Zaheer Khan’s spell had made it difficult for the middle-order to consolidate.

Chennai: Andrew Strauss’s fourteen 50s and thirteen 100s speak of an impressive conversion rate. One could see why on Thursday, when the left-hander endured and survived 232 balls for his 123 at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

The over-rate was allowed respectability when openers Strauss and Alastair Cook collectively dropped anchor, allowing bowlers to turn in their overs with little fuss. Strauss and Cook hadn’t batted in a Test in four months and could hence afford the indulgence upfront; but the middle-order failed to compensate for their watchfulness.

“It was pretty hard to begin with, getting out of the ’nets mode and getting back to Test match mode. Once I got in on such a flat wicket, it was a case of my concentrating hard and helping the team reach a pretty good position.

“In the first half hour, it was pretty hard to get out of the mental baggage of not playing cricket for four months, but it was then comfortable for me. I have done it for long time,” said Strauss.

Zaheer Khan’s spell made it difficult for the middle-order to consolidate. Sub-continental conditions and flat wickets leave it to reverse swing to engineer breakthroughs.

“If you cannot score runs on a flat wicket, you struggle. It was slightly trickier playing reverse swing. The pace bowlers were getting some reverse swing and the spinners were getting a little more bounce.

“I was really comfortable and did not want to try anything big. There was some good bowling there. Zaheer Khan was excellent with reverse swing and so was Ishant Sharma.

“They were bowling exceptionally well. We would have liked to be about two wickets less than what we are now. We need to get up to 350 to 400 to put pressure on the Indians,” said Strauss.

The relief in getting down to playing cricket was evident after last week’s events.

There has been so much talk about our coming back and whether it is the right thing to do or not. The cricket side has not been seen as important during the last three days leading up to the Test match. From both sides, this is a great place to play Test cricket.

“This is an important Test match for the game of cricket. We came back and showed that the game of cricket will continue. To get a hundred is very special. I do not want to overplay my role, but scoring runs is always good. I did not have any mental anguish during the last over ten days. I was one of the first guys to decide in favour of the tour.”

The left-handed opener praised leg-spinner Amit Mishra, who caught him on the drive off his own bowling.

“He looks to me as a very promising bowler. He has excellent variations. He was a bit slow with his deliveries today, and I can imagine that on a quicker wicket, it will be difficult for batsmen.”

‘England batted slowly’

Despite Strauss’s hundred, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh said the visiting side lacked a sense of urgency in its batting.

“If we had won the toss we would have put on at least 300 on the board. England’s batsmen lacked urgency and did not change their plans after tea, when they were 164 for one. They did not dominate after that. We knew there would be some swing and we could come back.

“England batted slowly and I don’t know why. They did the same in the ODIs. They were only looking at singles. The wicket will start taking turn soon and making runs will not be as easy as it was today.”

Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan’s efforts came in for praise. “They have worked hard and bowled their hearts out. As far as my role goes, after Anil (Kumble) I know I have to take the responsibility. I try and help wherever I can with (Amit) Mishra and (Pragyan) Ojha.”

The wicket of Andrew Flintoff, he said, would be crucial in the first hour on Friday. “The first hour is crucial. Freddie is a quality batsman and his wicket will be crucial for our chances. We should have had him today, but, otherwise, we came back very well.”

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