By IANS,
Hyderabad: Indian spinner Pragyan Ojha is looking forward to a five-wicket haul on his home ground here in the ongoing first test against New Zealand.
Ojha claimed three for 44 and got the only wicket New Zealand lost in their second inning on the third day of the test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal here.
“Its a good wicket, especially when you are playing in Hyderabad, growing up here, playing lot of games here. To be very frank, getting a five-wicket haul here could have been special but nevertheless I have the second inning and I am really looking forward doing this,” Ojha told reporters.
The spinner said there was some bounce in the wicket and it started turning more in the second inning. “It is a good sign for us. The way things are going we are quite confident that everything will fall into place.”
With two more days to go in this test, Ojha is also confident of an Indian victory.
The spinner said he along with Ashwin were looking to follow into the footsteps of great spinners India had produced.
“India has a legacy of having great spinners and definitely and as young spinners we are looking to follow into their footsteps. We have been picking wickets among ourselves. The way Ashwin is bowling I am confident we can do well in this series and looking forward to next.”
He disagreed that he is playing the role of only a restrictive bowler.
“It is the team plan. When you are bowling first day, you can never come and start bowling giving easy runs. The game has changed a lot. Earlier people used to play to draw tests. They are now playing to win. I feel you should play with patience and keep things tied and let the batsman commit a mistake.”
“I think the most important thing is winning games for India whether it is Harbhajan, Ashwin or me. Winning games for India is our priority. When I was used to bowl with Harbhajan, I used to talk a lot to him … share his experience.
“As far Ashwin, we are playing together we talk to each other. Obviously the amount of cricket Harbhajan played, he has lot of experience and he used to share this with us. That kind of things we do miss but Ashwin and I bowled really well. We should do well in upcoming games,” he said to queries whether he enjoyed playing with Harbhajan Singh or Ashwin.
“The best thing is always to think about your basics and keep it simple. Just try to be disciplined when you are playing test matches. You have to play with the patience of the batsman. When it turns it is a bonus for you. You have to just keep it there and let the batsman make some mistakes,” Ojha said on how different it is to bowl on a wicket which offers assistance to spinners than on a wicket which has nothing to offer.