Have grown in confidence, used to panic under pressure before: Saha
MS Dhoni’s record as wicketkeeper can be a good yardstick for progress. Wriddhiman Saha ticked that box in January when he affected 10 dismissals in the Cape Town Test against South Africa.
Those 10 catches saw the 33-year-old Saha better Dhoni’s nine dismissals in Melbourne Test against Australia in 2014-15 series. It also highlighted Saha’s constant evolution as a player.
Saha’s solid start to the year, however, came to an abrupt halt when he suffered a hamstring injury. He has recovered and is now gearing up for 2018 Indian Premier League with his new team Sunrisers Hyderabad.
The wicketkeeper says adjusting to a new format or team is not an issue any more after his past one year’s experience with the national team.
“The more matches I play, the more confident I get. Now I am much more mature about handling different type of situations and executing the role given to me by my team. Initially, there were times when I would panic in certain situations, but after playing for a long time with the national team that has gone away,” Saha said in an interview.
“When a domestic player gets into the big stage, the national team, a fair amount of run added with the support of his teammates, management helps a lot.”
EYE ON INTENSITY
Saha, who is currently playing in local league matches in Kolkata, added that he would be focusing on increasing his intensity as he changes gears from Test cricket to T20 format.
FITNESS KEY
“Everyone in the current Indian team is aware that if he is fit, the chances of doing well on field is greater. And it helps in increasing the intensity too, which is for shorter format like T20. If you don’t keep yourself fit, then you may have problems after the initial two to four matches. And the team will suffer,” he said.
The Bengal player who has 32 Test caps and nine ODI caps added that fitness also helps in improving focus, which is all the more crucial for a wicketkeeper in a T20 game.
“In a T20 match, a wicketkeeper hardly gets three to four chances to dismiss a batsman. It’s my prerogative to make those chances count. Sometimes it may decide the course of a match and a wicketkeeper has to take those,” he said.
NEWDELHI:Surpassing
AIM FOR SRH
Saha was picked for Rs five crore by Sunrisers Hyderabad, who have a star-studded batting line-up including David Warner, Kane Williamson, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey among others. Saha admits that his role as a wicketkeeper will be more crucial for his team than as a batsman.
“SRH is a balanced team. My role will be as a wicketkeeper first and then as a batsman. I will be the main keeper of the team and I would also like to contribute in different situations with the bat,” he said.
“I have played in three different teams earlier (Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders) and everywhere I have I tried to observe the way foreign players prepare for the match and learn from them.”
South African opener Dean Elgar recovered from a nasty blow to the helmet to power towards a century and take his side to tea on 185 for two on the opening day of the third test against Australia at Newlands on Thursday.
Elgar was on 57 when a delivery from Australian quick Josh Hazlewood (2-23) reared up and struck him flush on the helmet, ballooning into the air. Although he looked a little dazed, he was able to continue batting after receiving attention from the team doctor. The left-hander has since progressed to 91 not out as he closes in on an 11th test ton, adding 93 for the third wicket with a fluent AB de Villiers, who will resume after the interval on 46.
The home team has progressed well on a slow wicket that made scoring difficult in the first hour of play, but has offered little in the way of assistance to the bowlers aside from some healthy bounce.
South Africa will be pleased with their work in the first two sessions as they seek to seize the initiative in the four-game series that is level at 1-1.
The South Africans won the toss and elected to bat, losing opener Aiden Markram early for a duck as he edged Hazlewood to a diving Steve Smith at second slip with the score on six.
Elgar and Hashim Amla (31) added a patient 86 for the second wicket before the latter attempted a hook off Hazlewood, but top-edged to Pat Cummins at fine leg. Australia used the short ball more after that, with the lively Hazlewood tempting Elgar into an ill-advised attempt that rattled into his head gear.
South Africa made two changes from the side that won the second test by six wickets, restoring middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma to the lineup after his recovery from a finger injury, while seamer Morne Morkel came in for Lungi Ngidi, who is struggling with a toe problem.
Morkel has announced he will retire from all forms of international cricket at the end of this series and is currently on 297 test wickets. Australia are unchanged from the first two tests, with seamer Mitchell Starc and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh having shrugged off niggles.
In a T20 match, a wicketkeeper hardly gets three to four chances to dismiss a batsman. It’s my prerogative to make those chances count.
SAHA, on keeper’s role CAPETOWN:
Brief scores: South Africa 185/2 (Dean Elgar 91*, Hashim Amla 31) vs Australia at tea on Day 1.