Date:20/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/20/stories/2008112056432000.htm

Sport - Cricket

‘We can beat England’

P.K. Ajith Kumar

— Photo: S. Subramanium

Amit Mishra.

PALAKKAD: Amit Mishra feels another 2-0 Test series victory is just around the corner for India.

After starring in a major role in India’s thrashing of World champion Australia, the leg-spinner said the team could win both the Tests against England next month. And he knows the expectations would be high from him.

“I am looking forward to the England Test series,” Mishra told The Hindu here on Wednesday. “Right now though, I am thinking more about my Ranji Trophy assignments with the Haryana team.”

Mishra, who led Haryana against Kerala in the drawn match here, said he was only too glad to play for his State after the Test series. “The Haryana Cricket Association and Ranbir Singh Mahendra stood by me in my difficult days,” he said.

And the past few years were pretty difficult, he admitted. “I was forgotten by everyone, the media, the selectors… And I also had a terrible shoulder injury,” he said.

Keeping hopes alive

“But somehow I was confident that I would be able to play for India in a Test match one day. I had done well in the IPL for Delhi Daredevils and when a new selection committee took over, I thought there was hope.”

And he was right, as he was included in the Indian squad for the first two Tests against Australia. “I knew my chances of playing in the final XI were not great because Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were in the side, but I had made myself ready to play, if required,” he said.

And he was required, as Kumble was unfit for the second Test at Mohali. He seized the moment, claiming five wickets on debut.

“I was of course happy that I could get a five-wicket haul on my debut but I was happier because I could help India win a Test, that too against Australia,” he said. “I had planned my strategies against the Australian batsmen.”

Planned strike

The leg-break that bowled Simon Katich — his first Test wicket — was part of the plan. “I knew I could surprise him with that ball,” he smilingly said.

About the series-clinching victory at Nagpur, he said the team was feeling very confident going into the final day.

“We knew a lead of 300 was enough for us to win the Test and I was glad that I could contribute by taking the wicket of Michael Hussy at a crucial stage.”