Never felt the need to keep tail-enders safe from strike: Saha

Kolkata [India], Oct.04 (ANI): Underlining the importance of extending confidence to tail-enders, wicketkeeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha has stated that he never felt the need to keep the lower-order batsmen away from strike and insisted that it will in turn boost the morale of the players as well as the team. Despite being on the sidelines for the most part of his cricketing career, the 31-year-old diminutive batsman kept on scoring substantial knocks whenever an opportunity had arisen for him. Saha rightfully earned the Man of the Match award for putting up two unbeaten half centuries in India's 178-run victory in the second Test against New Zealand at Eden Gardens. His knocks assume even greater significance as they came when India were reeling at precarious situations. "This is not new to me. I have done this right since I played club cricket. When I bat in that position, I only think about giving an equal opportunity to score to the batsman at the other end. I never feel the need to keep the tail-ender safe from strike. It is about giving them confidence and making them feel even they can score runs. It helps me and the confidence of the batsman at the other end," Saha told bcci.tv. "If you look at this Test, I had to play foil to Rohit Sharma who was scoring well at that moment. I might have just scored a 30 or 40 in that partnership with him but I do realise that it is invaluable given the situation of the match. 50s and 100s do not matter; sometimes even 30s and 40s are precious," said the wicketkeeper-batsman, referring to his vital stand with Rohit. Personal achievements, according to Saha, held least importance for him and he instead believes that he would be more than satisfied if his crucial knocks are helping toward the team's cause. "I do not care about centuries, what I care is about the team's interest and whether my knocks have helped the team," a beaming Saha said after receiving the Man of the Match trophy. "I am just happy I could score a couple of half centuries that helped the team's cause. What is even more pleasing is that fact that it came under difficult situations. I received a lot of support from the other batsmen during those innings." (ANI)