Sreesanth had bagged his career's first Man-of-the-match honour against South Africa in 2006 at Johanesburg, wherein he had scalped eight wickets from both the innings.
In a test series in 2006, Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni praised him as "one of the best bowlers of reverse swing"
Fanie de Villiers: Sreesanth’s world class and deserves to be among the top-three fast bowlers... I like his attitude, which is that of a bulldog.
Inzamum-ul-haq:Sreesanth is a player who has the aggression that is extremely essential for a fast bowler. He is not afraid to look into the eyes of any batsman nor he is reluctant to pass a remark or two. But staring and looks aside, Sreesanth has the pace, aggression, potential and above all, a thinking head on his shoulders to become one of the bowlers of the future. The true character of a fast bowler comes out when he returns for his second or third spell. And I was impressed to see Sreesanth charging in with the same zest as for the new spell. I would be very disappointed if he does not go on to become one of the most feared fast bowlers.
"Sreesanth is more accurate, has a far better cricket brain, and can also increase his pace when he wants to to a pretty decent pace. "
"I honestly can't see how he did not make the 15 man squad. He should be in the starting 11 imo."
Speedster S Sreesanth's on-field aggression has come in for praise from Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, who said his team was looking to "impose" itself on India in the one-day series with a similar behaviour.
"I know it (Sreesanth's aggression) is going to be there. That's what fast bowling is all about. I expect all the guys in our side to play with lot of aggression and (be) very positive with the way they go about things," Ponting said.
"We expected it from him (Sreesanth)," he said, adding, he had been watching the bowler in the past couple of years.
Ponting said that Sreesanth did a good job for India in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Lavishing praise on temperamental pacer S. Sreesanth for scripting India's record win over Sri Lanka in the second Test here, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Friday said the comeback-bowler is as good as veteran Zaheer Khan when it comes to extracting reverse swing.
"It is important to bring fresh legs. Sreesanth is little different from Ishant when it comes to controlling the swing and I feel he is one of the best bowlers of reverse swing along with Zaheer Khan. Good to see him in action," an ecstatic Dhoni said after India beat the visitors by an innings and 144 runs on Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Sreesanth took six wickets, five of them in the first innings, to wreck Sri Lanka's batting and earn the Man of the Match trophy.
The win was also India's 100th in 432 Tests and their biggest over Sri Lanka.
"It is a moment of pride to be a part of the side that won the 100th Test. I think it wouldn't have been possible if the past cricketers had not done their job properly," he quipped.
Dhoni said the the massive 642-run total that the Indians managed in the first innings was crucial in ensuring India's domination.
"It was a good toss to win. The wicket was good to bat on and first day it started turn and I feel the amount of runs we scored in the first innings was important," he said.
"It is important to get some momentum and get into the third Test (from December 2 in Mumbai) with a win. There will be something for the fast bowlers and spinners as well because of the soil used in Mumbai," he added.
His opposite number Kumar Sangakkara blamed the loss on his team's batting collapse but promised to come back hard in the last match.
"It was a very good wicket. It didn't really offer much to the spinners but it wasn't hard to score. But when the rival openers get a 200-odd partnership on the opening day and the opposition scores over 600 in one and a half days, than it puts you on the backfoot. Their batting just took the game away," he said.
"We needed partnerships but no one really stuck around. We put ourselves under pressure, didn't occupy the crease long enough," he added.
Sangakkara said his team was strong enough to get over the massive defeat.
"Of course, we will come back. Every Test is an opportunity to improve and come back better. We are a mentally strong side and we will be back in the third Test. We just need to take our chances early on. Our bowlers have worked really hard and I am confident that the batsmen will also do well. We will come back hard," he said.
Sreesanth said he would continue to improve his bowling and strive for a better show in Mumbai.
"God has been kind. It is really nice to be back in the team. I want to thank everybody, my family, my team members for the support," he said.
"I hope to get the speed up to 141-145kms in the next match. I am working on it. This is just the first game and i have to keep the way I am bowling. I think there is still room for improvement. I keep on learning every single day," he added.
Srikkanth:
Chennai: Selection committee chairman K Srikkanth on Friday said paceman S Sreesanth's remarkable comeback augurs well for the Indian cricket team as he could prove to be a lethal weapon in Mahendra Singh Dhoni's armoury.
Sreesanth, who returned to the Indian side after 19 months in wilderness, played a major role in India's win over Sri Lanka in the second Test and Srikkanth was effusive in his praise of the Kerala pacer.
"I must congratulate Sreesanth for his performance after a long lay-off. His comeback should augur well for the country. He bowled to his potential. His late out-swingers are always dangerous. Once he finds his rhythm, Sreesanth is a dangerous bowler and difficult for even a settled batsman to negotiate," he told PTI.
Srikkanth also credited the victory to team work.
"I am extremely happy with India's good showing in Test in both away and home matches. That is why we are heading towards number one spot. We have done well on sporting wickets. In Kanpur, the performance of both batsmen and bowlers are praiseworthy and they have done their jobs," he said.
Rahul Dravid:
Praising Harbhajan Singh for his effort of 85 off 82 deliveries to propel India to a strong position, Dravid said, “His was a fantastic innings, even in the last Test he played brilliantly to save the game for us and, today also, because of his innings we enjoy the edge. His partnership with Sreesanth bailed us out.”
The off-spinner was involved in an unbroken 69-run partnership for the last wicket with Sreesanth.
Dravid also praised Sreesanth for his resolve, saying “credit to Sreesanth, he hung in there and played 50 balls
No comments:
Post a Comment