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| Sachin Tendulkar during his innings against New Zealand in Hamilton on Thursday. (Reuters) |
Hamilton: New Zealand pacer Chris Martin was the most successful bowler on the second day of their first Test against India here Thursday.
The 34-year-old bowler, whose selection created a lot of ruckus, took two for 53.
Martin, in a candid conversation after the match, said that he had a long-cherished desire to bowl to Sachin Tendulkar.
The following are excerpts
On the Indian batsmen
I have watched them on telly. It’s been 15 years I suppose. They haven’t toured here that often. But standing at the top of my mark with Sachin Tendulkar at the other end was a great feeling. Something that you do think about quite a lot while growing up. I have a little bit more to bowl to him tomorrow (Friday).
On seeing Sehwag’s back early
I know that most of their players respect a decent ball, apart from Sehwag, and it was good to see his back. But yeah, if you bowl a good line and a good length, you get respect from them. To go at three per over on that wicket was a good achievement. Had we held on to our catches, the day would have been more even.
What New Zealand need to do on the third day
Bowling in Hamilton, each morning you turn up, there is always a bit of moisture. There’s a little bit of something in the air. With the new ball and a little bit of swing tomorrow (Friday), if we can pick up at least a couple of wickets, we can get ourselves right back into the game. At 60 for six, we were looking down the barrel. We did pull it back to a position where we can compete. Tomorrow (Friday) is going to be the crunch day.
If this is a crucial Test match for him
Yeah. I think this Test is pretty big for me, and I am enjoying it so far.
If he was distracted by the controversy surrounding his selection
My main focus was not to let the talk in the media get into my head. It has helped me to relax, to get into the groove. Yeah, I managed to deal with the kind of stuff pretty easily.
If it was tough to make a comeback at this age
I suppose yeah. With time catching up on you, you struggle a little bit sometimes. But in this Test, I think I have managed to regain what people thought I had lost. To prove a few doubters wrong is always on my list, and also to prove it to myself as well.
If joining the squad makes the comeback easier
Yeah. Once you are in the team, once you are hanging out with the guys you have played with, the confidence it gives you is huge. I think Dan (Daniel Vettori) has given me the ball at good times in the match to let me have a good crack.
On seeing Jesse Ryder through to his hundred (Martin was the last batsman)
My strike rate is okay when it comes to getting guys through to their hundreds. But whatever happens after that is up to them. I watched Jimmy Franklin get through to one at No. 10. I think I saw skippy (Vettori) through to a double hundred once. There are a couple others I don’t remember. I had five balls to get through. He pumped me up after each ball and made sure I stayed in. He told me I am gonna finish it this over, and he did.
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