India's Harbhajan Singh celebrating the fall of a West Indian wicket during the recent series. - REUTERS
jalandha, india, (cmc)
INDIAN OFF-SPINNER Harbhajan Singh said yesterday pitches in the Caribbean had become more helpful to spinners and had contributed to their recent 1-0 series triumph against the West Indies.
"During our tour of the Caribbean, most of the pitches were slow and especially in the Test series, during the second innings the ball kept low and ultimately the batsmen were beaten," Harbhajan, who grabbed 11 wickets in two Tests, told reporters.
"Wickets in West Indies were similar to those in the Asian countries like India and Sri Lanka, which helped us in understanding its nature early." Harbhajan played a crucial role in the final Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica when he snatched five for 13 to reduce West Indies to 103 all out in the first innings.
His performance gave India a valuable 97-run lead and helped them set the hosts a challenging target for victory.
LARA'S COMPLAINTS
Throughout the series, West Indies captain Brian Lara complained that regional pitches were more suited to India's spin attack than to the Windies seamers.
Harbhajan also lauded India's fast bowlers for their role in the triumph, after Munaf Patel grabbed 14 wickets and rookie pacer Shantha Sreesanth, 10 wickets.
"The fast bowlers contributed to the success of spinners in the last two matches by their early breakthroughs which left less pressure on the spinners," Harbhajan noted.
The 26-year old, who has grabbed 238 wickets in 57 Tests, said Lara's captaincy had been the decisive factor in the West Indies' capture of the one-day International series.
"Lara's able captaincy was the key to West Indies success in ODI series," Harbhajan said.
"Although we started in a very good rhythm, later on West Indies overtook us which yielded results in their favour."
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