Calcutta: Young India seamer Barinder Sran feels tips on the art of swing bowling from Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar has helped him prosper.
Sran (4/10) returned the best figures by an Indian debutant in T20 Internationals to help the visitors restrict Zimbabwe to a paltry 99 for nine and then register a 10-wicket victory in the second match in Harare on Monday.
"I got ideas from Ashish Nehra and Bhuvneshwar Kumar about reverse swing and seam position. The main thing is to handle pressure and bowler has to read batsmen quickly in T20s, vary the pace and length of the ball," Sran told bcci.tv.
"It's a dream debut, everyone dreams about making his debut an unforgettable one... really proud that I achieved the best T20 figures by a debutant," the 23-year-old said.
Sran was delighted to receive his maiden India T20I and ODI caps from captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. "It's a big thing to get the ODI and T20 caps from Mahi bhai, even that is like a dream."
Sran was interested in boxing too, initially, but has no regrets about choosing cricket as profession.
"The decision to chose cricket over boxing was taken long time back and I have no regrets. I never thought about boxing after that and it seems like a correct decision. While I was playing for Punjab in first-class cricket I realised that I was in a stable place. I felt there was not much scope in boxing."
The bowler though still watches boxing on TV, especially Vijender Singh's professional bouts.
"(Jasprit) Bumrah has got a different action, he has the pace. Dhawal bhai also swings the ball and I have an advantage of being a left-armer."
On things he would want to take from legendary Pakistan left-arm pacer Wasim Akram, Sran said: "Speed, reverse swing, his ideas, his ability to get the ball swing in and out."
Meanwhile, batsman Mandeep Singh, who struck a half-century in the team's series-levelling win against Zimbabwe in the second T20I, said he spent a sleepless night before the match owing to pressure which vanished the moment he stepped on to the field.
Mandeep, who scored an unbeaten 52 in a modest 100-run chase, said the anxiety he felt before the match was surprisingly gone when he came in to bat.
"I had a sleepless night before the match, things like pressure of winning a match or the series play on your mind, and also the fact that the selectors are watching you. Call it pressure or nervousness, whatever you want. But when you go in to bat, it becomes a little easier, at least for me. At that time, I just thought, the target is 100, how do I achieve that.
"Once I'm inside, these things don't bother me, that the selectors are watching, that this series is very important. Before the match these things do play on my mind, this series is obviously very important, but honestly, once I go in, it's only, I have to bat, and win the match, and obviously, (things like) reading the wicket, what is the situation. So it's a good thing that I forget (all the pressure) once I'm in," insisted Mandeep.
