‘I saw him pulling a short ball from Ashok Dinda and tried the same ploy’
Delhi medium pacer Navdeep Saini, who picked up the wicket of Australian swashbuckler David Warner early in the warm-up game for India ‘A’, said it was a special feeling to get the feisty opener out with a bouncer.
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"It's a special feeling that I got Warner out with a bouncer. I saw him pulling a short ball from Ashok Dinda and thought that if I try the same ploy he will play the same shot and with my high-arm action I could get the ball to bounce more," Saini said at the end of first-day's play during which Australia made 327/5.
"That's exactly what happened when I bowled the bouncer and he got out," added the Haryana-born bowler.
The tall Saini was the only bowler to impress for India ‘A’ during the day's play and returned with fine figures of 2 for 27 after a first spell of 2 for 13 in six overs in which he dismissed both the visiting team openers, Warner for 25 and Matt Renshaw for 11.
Warner top-edged the pull shot and the ball skied high for wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan to take a comfortable catch behind the stumps while Renshaw poked at a ball that moved away a bit and edged to the 'keeper.
About the two wickets he secured before lunch to leave the visitors in some trouble at 55 for two before centuries from captain Steven Smith and Shaun Marsh, Saini said they were the result of bowling in the good length areas.
"I was a bit nervous when I started to bowl, but I got over it started bowling in the right areas, the good length spots," said Saini.
Saini could bowl just four balls in the first over after lunch before he limped off the field with cramps and came on at the fag end of the day to bowl two more overs with the second new ball.
He said he was not used to bowling in Mumbai's hot conditions.
"I got dehydrated and developed cramps as I am not used to bowling in such hot conditions. I am trying to improve my fitness," said the 24-year-old bowler.
About the track prepared for the game at the Brabourne Stadium, Saini said that it became flat in the afternoon after offering some help earlier on.
"The wicket is good, the new ball swings, but later on during the day it becomes flat," he said.
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