Ojha relishes bounce and turn of pitch

Colombo:

After coming a cropper in the first two matches, left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha rediscovered some of his lost touch on the opening day of third Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday and he attributed it to the bounce and turn that the wicket was offering.

Ojha picked up a couple of wickets today as India did reasonably well to restrict Sri Lanka to 293 for four on the first day.

"Because it (the wicket) bounces and turn, it really excited me and I thought if I don't do anything silly and I do my basics right and keep it there, I think I will get my reward," Ojha said after the day's play which ended early because of bad light.

But Ojha had his problems with the run-up, sending down four no balls.

"I think it was a problem for me initially. I took the wrong run-up and changed my run-up. Then it was alright and after that I was doing better," he said.

Asked if he prefers bowling with SG balls to Kookaburra, Ojha said, "SG (ball) does something. Throughout the day it does something. Kookaburra after initial 20 overs, when the seam gets older, I think it does not do as much as SG does.

"I feel there is a difference between SG and Kookaburra. But I don't think that is something which I should think about. I just focus on what you have to do with the things that are available to me," he added.

Ojha conceded that absence of injured Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh has weakened the bowling attack but felt it was an opportunity for players like him to make a mark.

"Obviously senior players like Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan, we obviously need them. But as an individual this is the best opportunity to prove yourself when you know the ball is given to you and the team expects and the whole country expects.

"If you deliver that is the best thing to happen in life. And once you are playing for your country I think you should look up to such challenges," he said.

On whether the team should have gone in with three seamers, Ojha said, "It is totally on coach and the management they have to decide. what the team should be."