India allrounder Naman Dhir, playing his debut series for the country vs West Indies, said that his batting skills help him to read opposition batters better while bowling.
In the 3rd T20I at Indore, Dhir snapped up Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer who were looking to break the shackles and take the match away from India.
At one point, Pooran had hit him for three sixes in an over but Dhir stayed calm and snapped him up in the last ball of the over. Earlier, Hetmyer had also slammed him for a four and a six but Dhir had the last laugh there as well when he dismissed the batter in the final ball of the over.
“It helps to be a batter because you understand the batter’s stance, where his backlift is coming from, his guard and the kind of shots he can play. I keep observing these things when I bowl,” Dhir told JioStar.
“I didn’t plan to concede three sixes and then take a wicket. For instance, when Kamil Pooran was batting, he was looking to play every shot towards the leg side and create room to free his arms, so I wanted to cramp him for room. I made a couple of errors in the first two deliveries. I knew I was bowling my third over, the batter was set, and with the run rate being high, he was bound to take a chance. And, ultimately, he got out playing exactly the kind of shot I wanted him to, getting caught at square-leg. So, these little things help me a lot, and as a bowler, I keep looking for such small details,” he added.
Dhir also said he relies on discipline in line and length, along with variations in pace, to make an impact with his off-spin. “As an off-spinner, I don’t have too many variations, so I have to rely on my line and length and vary my pace. That has always been my thinking. As they say, in T20 cricket, an attacking option can also be a defensive one because there is nothing better than taking a wicket,” he said.