Dubai: Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has attributed India’s consistent show with the ball across formats to a skilful pool of bowlers and confidence shown by the team management.
“Our bowling pool has swelled to 10-15 and earlier it wasn’t so. Now one who is replacing you is also as skilful,” Chahal told reporters after India notched up a comfortable nine-wicket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
“Even in England, the way our bowlers have dominated, it shows the regular flow of spinners and medium pacers in the team. Also the confidence showed by the management, that is important for a youngster. There is no negativity, you can concentrate on your bowling.”
India have been invincible in the six-nation tournament as they defeated Pakistan twice, besides notching up wins against Hong Kong and Bangladesh. “We were positive from the start, because the first match against Hong Kong was tough. Next we were playing Pakistan after a long time, the atmosphere was good. We haven’t lost a match in this tournament, especially winning two matches against Pakistan will give us a boost ahead of the final,” Chahal said.
It was Chahal’s first match against Pakistan. Asked about his experience, he said: “Generally cricketers have a bucket list, where you hope to play Pakistan one day but when we played them, it didn’t feel that we were playing Pakistan, it seemed its our own team only. When you go to the ground, it doesn’t matter if you are playing Pakistan or England. It is all about being mentally strong and how much pressure you can deal with.”
India have dominated Pakistan both with the bat and the ball but Chahal said it was just a case of a team having a bad day in office for their arch-rivals. “Our batsmen put their bowlers under pressure from the start. They are playing the new ball well, they are taking their time and partnership are getting longer,” he said.
