Turn or bounce that got batsmen out?
A little bit of bounce and speed variation, that was important I thought. Most of the dismissals were brought about by difference in speeds rather than much of spin, actually. It was initially damp and there was some turn, but after that it flattened out a bit and started going straight. This ball, once it gets older, it becomes easier to bat. There's a lot more time. I think it was more about bounce and speed variation that created the problem.
Decent breeze. Bowling from closer to the umpire?
Not really. I have been bowling close to the stumps a lot. There have been occasions in the limited overs formats when you use the crease much more. Effectively, because of the breeze and the amount of drift I am getting, going in straighter lines helps a bit because the batsman starts coming out and follows the ball. That gives me a good chance to take caught and bowleds. That's the whole idea, and also trying to get them to nick them off to slips.
18th five wicket haul...How does it feel?
Everybody wants to start playing cricket one day to achieve what no body else could achieve. I am happy to be there, at some stage of my career where I am better than everybody else who has played the game. It feels nice, but the only thing that is constant is trying to improve from wherever you are. I think change is very, very important. This is good, but tomorrow is a different day and you have to keep improving.
About KL Rahul
From what I think about Rahul, he's a fine fine player. We all know that he's a quality cricketer. He's made a lot of runs in First-Class cricket. He has pretty much arrived at this level.
Beforehand, when he made hundreds for us, it has been crucial knocks. He made one in Sri Lanka which is very very memorable. As a matter of fact, the way he played in the IPL, it's just an extension. Everybody wants Rahul to do well, which is a big tick for him.
I've nicknamed him batting machine. He keeps batting all the time and it's not a surprise that he's made runs and I'm very happy for him.
How do you carry on from good start?
I don't want to read too much into that fact. It's obviously put the team in a great position and a first day five wicket haul is something you should cherish. But I think I've done it a few times before and I'm pretty pleased at having achieved it again.
For starters, whenever I have started a tour or a series, my initial intention is to get a five-wicket haul. Like a batsman wants to go out there to get hundred, my intention is to get a five-wicket haul. Once I get that momentum, I try and capitalize on it through the tournament. I don't turn back. Once I pick up a couple of wickets, I'm looking always to hit the five-wicket mark. It's sort of psychological thing. It's sort of a hunger for me, nothing else.
Bowling as a unit and second day plans?
I think this wicket is very different to the one in Antigua. Antigua, I thought, had a lot more carry and bounce in it. I'm pretty surprised with how the wicket has behaved later on in the first day. It's started to slow down and it's starting to take a little more spin than it did in the morning. The way Pujara and Rahul batted, I think we just have to mount up more runs tomorrow. And if we get an opportunity to get more runs tomorrow, we just put your head down and try and make runs and probably look at the third day about what we can deliver with the ball.
Having said that, the fast bowlers have utilized the new ball really well. Today, Ishant broke twice, the other day Shami broke with the new ball. That's very important from a spinner's perspective and a team's point of view.
His dual role in the team..
In the past, and also from experiences and other people talking from the commentary box and the media people talking, there's one thing that's very clear in my career, that if you get wickets, it just makes your job easier to make runs. Especially if you're batting lower down the order. And vice-versa, if you make runs it just pulls a little bit pressure off you and you go out there and you enjoy your bowling and you take wickets. But, as of now, where I stand, I've got both my departments clearly demarked. I know what fetches results in which departments. Maybe the methodogies could differ, and it might work or might not, but I've definitely have kept it demarked so that I have process goal, and if I stick to it I have a better chance at succeeding.
West Indies batting..
I was pretty surprised that they won the toss and batted first today. Like Virat mentioned at the toss, there was a bit in it, it was a bit sticky. Maybe I would've batted as well. But with their strengths, I thought it was a bit surprising. They lost three wickets up front.
I was really taken aback by the counter attack that Blackwood did. It sort of put the game in the balance. And we had to break twice and brought the game back. It's clearly a game where the experienced side is seizing the more opportune moments, I would put it that way. With a little bit of experience and nailing the right moments, the game could get closer.
This game has a lot of uncertainties. We just saw one when Sri Lanka pulled it off against Australia. And they did the same against us in Galle, so we can't be lacklustre with that, we will have to keep doing our process properly.
Harder to deal with defensive batsmen or attacking ones?
I think a combination of both in a batting line up makes it difficult for a bowling line-up. It's not just one way of batting that will put pressure. Because at the end of the day, you've got a variety of bowlers who like and fancy themselves against a style of batting. So a combination in a batting line-up is very very important.
That's what they struck this morning - Samuels and Blackwood. It was a good partnership, and I thought the game plan at that particular time was bang-on. They took the game to us, and it was very important we broke, that makes me extra happy for what we did.
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