Young left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed, who captured two important wickets and played a crucial role in India's convincing 71-run victory over Windies in the second T20 International at the Atal Behari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium, here, on Tuesday, said that he always enjoyed the responsibility entrusted on him by the team.
Khaleel, who dismissed Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer early, said that he never felt the pressure to perform. “I enjoy the responsibility. When I was young I always dreamt of playing for India. Since I have achieved that, If I feel pressure, I can’t perform to my potential."
“My only aim is to do well for India and for that I need to enjoy my game. If you enjoy your game, the hunger to do well increases,” said Khaleel in the post-match press conference.
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About India's bowling plans while defending a total of 195, Khaleel said, “The pitch had nothing for the bowlers. It was a batting friendly wicket. Our effort was not to give them much room and maintain a good line and length...After getting the wickets of Hetmyer and Shai Hope, we thought the match was in our control to some extent."
Windies coach Stuart Law said that his young team needed to learn from its mistakes and improve. “We have got some fantastic T20 players. Now, it’s just about playing for pride... It’s time for them to dig deep and play for pride, and give it everything in the last game. If we play anywhere near to our potential, we can beat any team on the day. We need to improve a lot to get to that stage.”
According to Law, who is nearing the end of his stint with the Windies, the Caribbeans need to rebuild the team and get better. “They have full of potential and now, it’s up to them whether they really want to work hard, play really good cricket, listen to the coaching staff and senior players and keep developing their game. If they want to do that, the world will be at their feet,” said Law.
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