Manchester: England`s Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad credited his bowlers for the six-wicket win over India, saying they showed character by coming back strongly after being hammered initially by the visiting batsmen.
"Taking wickets is the best way to stop scoring rates. We didn`t hit our length in the first 10 overs but the way we came back and bowled them out showed the character and skill of our bowlers," said Broad yesterday.
India were 104 for one in the 13th over but then fell apart to be all out for 165 in the final over.
"We didn`t start well but the way we bowled in the final 10 overs was brilliant. We decided taking wickets was the positive option. It kept the pressure on new batters. It showed the value of picking wickets even in limited overs game.”
"We didn`t hit our length, bowl our best ball and gave too many four-balls. But their batsmen also came out with intent to hit the ball. There was no margin of error as the ball skidded on in early overs. You needed to be really spot on with deliveries and that showed as both sides made good scores in the first six overs.”
"Thereafter it became harder to score. We wanted to slow down after India went to a flyer."
Broad also had words of praise for Eoin Morgan who stabilised the England chase in the middle overs with a quickfire 49.
"Morgan really batted well and showed how critical he is in our line-up. We lost an early wicket but Kevin and Keiswetter were brilliant in getting us almost to 60 from the powerplays. Once we limited them to 165, we were confident of chasing it down."
Broad had words of praise for young Indian opener Ajinkya Rahane, and was unwilling to rule out the visitors` chances in the forthcoming one-day series.
"He played fantastically well. He used his crease well, stepped across and hit on the legside. Our length wasn`t spot on.”
"But India are 50-over world champions. We know the danger they present to us. We are not going to take the game lightly. We need to focus on what we are doing and we want to continue with performance on big stage.”
"It was fantastic to see a few guys stand up and delivery today.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, September 01, 2011, 12:14