Umar Nazir Ahmed Mir from a small town in Pulwama district got the prize scalp of Indian Test skipper Rohit Sharma but the Jammu and Kashmir lanky bowler was subdued in celebrations. “He is a big name, an International player and skipper of India. It was a big wicket for me and I am happy.
“I didn’t celebrate as a mark of respect for him. I am a big fan of his batting. A good ball in the right area takes any player and it was my day and I pitched in the right areas. It was the first time, I bowled to him and there was moisture in the wicket. We took benefit by pitching just ahead of good length to extract bounce from red-soil and trouble batters. It is the biggest wicket in my career,” the 31-year-old from Malikpora in Pulwama, Kashmir, said.
Nazir also dismissed Mumbai skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Shivam Dube to finish with 4/46. “We had We had no particular plans for big players. Cricket Association (J&K) sent us one week early here and we practiced well and acclimatised to conditions here as we came from cold weather,” he said.
Incidentally, he had picked four wickets in the second innings including Suryakumar Yadav and Aditya Tare to end with a match haul of five wickets at Wankhede in 2014. He carried on from that performance to rattle Mumbai again, despite all the hype about their star-studded batting line-up.
“Last time also big players were there. I always recall those memories against star-studded Mumbai with players like Suryakumar. I took four wickets there also. In cricket, anything can happen. We didn’t think too much. I slept at 10 pm and woke up at 7 am had breakfast and came relaxed to the ground,” he said.
“The win at Wankhede is the best memory so far and if we win here it will be more special because the Indian captain is playing here,” said Umar who likes to bowl in Mumbai and has played Times Shield and other Leagues in the city.
