When the wickets were not coming in the morning session, what was the team's strategy?
It is all about the planning. Before the game, we planned about these things. And our plan was to bowl maiden overs if the batsman gets set. So the plan was to see how many maiden overs we can bowl to frustrate the batsmen and not give the runs easily. We stuck to the plan and got the results.
What was the planning behind setting attacking fields?
We decided all of this from beforehand and there wasn't anything in the wicket for fast bowlers. So our effort was to bowl as many maiden overs as possible but the wind was also affecting our bowling, moving the ball a bit more sometimes it was not reversing as well. So we were talking continuously as to what we should do and grab half chances even if they come to us. Because on such wickets a lot of hard work is needed and you need to hold even half chances, so we needed to grab them. If we don't then wickets wont come and it would be difficult to take 20 wickets as the wicket would slow down even more. So the plan was to stick to the plan and bowl in proper areas as much as we can and be consistent and bowl maiden overs. And make the batsman play bad shots.
How is the rapport amongst the bowlers in the team?Our chemistry is very good and we are always giving confidence to each other and pushing each other through tough times on such wickets. And try to bowl as per the plan. I can see that Shami is bowling very well but he is not getting wickets. So my job is to go and compliment him and tell him to keep going. Because I know if he is bowling well from one end, it will only help the other bowler from the other end. So if he don't bowl to plan and don't compliment each other it will be difficult for us. Wickets wont come otherwise, we have to plan bowl dot balls and maidens. Then only we will get wickets and so it is important to compliment each other, bowl maidens from both ends and the wicket can come from the other end also. (It is) all about backing each other and supporting team mates and our bonding is very good. We are always sharing jokes and laughing and that helps us get through difficult times on difficult pitches and it is important to support each other in such cases.
Your thoughts on Mohammed Shami?He is a natural bowler. He is not struggling after injury but he is fit now and he doesn't need to be told where to bowl. He is a smart bowler and he has inswing, outswing, a good bouncer, he is a complete bowler so he is a good bowler and I don't think there is a need to even compliment him. He is a very talented bowler and we all of us in the group compliment each other.
Do you think having 566 runs on the board provided you a cushion?We were not concerned about the runs. We didn't look at 566 runs at all, we just bowled as if we had only 350 runs. Because we wanted to get them out as early as possible, that would make things better for us in the second innings. Because the longer they bat, the later it will be for us. And in the second innings, it would be tough to get 10 wickets then. So at the start of the match we were thinking of getting them out today so we can get them out again in the next two days.
Discipline from the captain or the coach or self?The moment we came to the ground and saw the wicket we knew that the ball isn't going to seam around a lot or move around. We knew the conditions are going to be hard and it will be hot. We just planned to bowl as many maiden overs as possible and not give easy boundaries. Coach input yes, Virat as well and everyone talked about the same thing. We knew taking 20 wickets wouldn't be easy but it was important to plan for it. We just didn't want to talk about it this time we wanted to do it 110 per cent and bowl those maiden overs otherwise we cannot take 20 wickets.
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