Stuart Binny surprised to be in the top 10 ODI bowling performances
The Karnataka all-rounder Stuart Binny, who was included in the side at the expense of Parvez Rasool against Bangladesh in the 2nd ODI of the Sahara Cup, stood up to give his best for the team when it needed it badly. After an incredible spell of 4.4 overs of which 2 of those were maidens, Binny picked up 6 wickets conceding just 4 runs, thereby making his entry into the list of top 10 bowling performaces in ODI history.
"My strength is to bowl wicket-to-wicket and swing the ball. The conditions were ideal to bowl so I don't think I surprised myself, but to be in the top ten in the world is surprising," said Binny after he starred in India’s 47 run win.
"We never thought we were out of the game. When we went into the break we were disappointed with the way we batted. But it's important that we had a good chat during the break and went out and bowled in good areas because the wicket was doing something and if we were going to struggle to bat on that wicket, I think it was going to be difficult for them as well. We just knew if we got a few wickets up front and if they were three down in the first seven-eight overs, we could go through and push and get a victory.
"Credit must be given to their bowlers. We [the India bowlers] fed off their line and lengths. They bowled stump to stump," Binny added crediting the team for the win.
On settling with a good line and length quickly on swinging conditions: "It's important from where you start the ball when you're swinging it. The ball was swinging but in the first over I bowled a bit wide and it went outside off stump. I think what we did yesterday was try and bowl on middle stump and when we get conditions like this, it's important not to [try too many things]," said the all-rounder.
The 30-year old also mentioned that his Ranji Trophy game plan worked for him: "We generally bowl on wickets that help us a bit [at home for Karnataka]. One-day cricket is a bit different with the white ball, it tends to swing initially, but on this ground it was a bit heavy so we just maintained the ball and bowled good areas. I remember Robin [Uthappa, his Karnataka team-mate] telling me to bowl the lengths [which we use] in four-day cricket back home, mentioned Binny.
"From a batsman's perspective, it was a wicket where you needed to be a bit positive. The ball was seaming a bit. It was under the covers during the rain delay and there was sweating. It was a bit damp. The spikes were getting stuck, so we knew it was going to do a bit. But again to score runs on a wicket like this, you have to play shots and take a chance somewhere. Even Umesh [Yadav's] 12-14 runs were crucial. Bowlers are going to be on top on wickets like this, but it's also important that the batsman can get as many runs as possible," concluded Binny who was rightly awarded the Man of the Match.