Murali Kartik, architect of India's incredible two-wicket win against Australia
tonight, revealed he shared jokes with batting partner Zaheer Khan to keep
his calm during the chase.
After his six-wicket haul broke Australia's back, Kartik shone with the bat as
well. He was unbeaten on 21 and it was his unbeaten 52-run stand with Zaheer (31
not out) that frustrated the Australians and guided India home in the see-saw
match.
"It was a special day and it belonged to me. There was lot of pressure
when we were batting. In between balls, we discussed how many runs we needed
and decided to go one run at a time.
"We needed to stay calm, so we cracked jokes and cooled our nerves. I
had decided not to put pressure on myself and just enjoy being there. I think
that attitude paid off," he said.
Wankhede Stadium has never let him down and the left-arm spinner
said the venue has been indeed a happy hunting ground for him.
"It's a special place for me. I broke a record here in
an Irani Trophy match and I got my last Man of the Match award here in 2004-5.
So it has been a happy hunting ground for me," said Kartik of the venue
where he took seven wickets to lead India to a famous Test win against the same
opponents in 2004-5.
Kartik also admitted having nicked Brett Lee during
the course of his batting.
"At one point of time, after seeing the replay, I did feel that I had
nicked one.
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