Pitching the ball up was the key for Broad | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Pitching the ball up was the key for Broad

IANS | By, London
Jul 24, 2011 04:43 PM IST

England seamer Stuart Broad said bowling fuller at the Indian batsmen helped him to get the four wickets that saw the visitors crash out for 286 in the first innings and trail by 188.

England seamer Stuart Broad said bowling fuller at the Indian batsmen helped him to get the four wickets that saw the visitors crash out for 286 in the first innings and trail by 188.

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Broad (4-37), who had to fight for his place in the team after an unimpressive ODI series against Sri Lanka, justified his inclusion by knocking out the Indian top order, which included the prized wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.

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"I was bowling a little bit fuller today and I'm sure the stats will show that," Broad said.

"That was the plan that I came with into this Test match. I think bringing a cover out to give me the protection to bowl that little bit fuller but to keep the three slips in was a good option. I don't think gully is a huge position in England particularly," he said.

"You have different roles within a side. You pitch the ball up and look for movement but when the moment comes for a bowler to rough the batsmen up, it's straight to me for my bouncer is decent."

Broad led the English attack, consistently bowling full length in conditions that allowed the ball to swing.

He removed both the openers Gautam Gambhir and Abhinav Mukund before luring Sachin Tendulkar (34) to drive a full length delivery but he edged the away-swinger to Graeme Swann at second slip.

If not for the spilled catches at slips, Broad would have got the wickets of centurion Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman as well.

"I gained confidence from my first spell and I felt in good rhythm, always communicating with the other guys out there which is important.

"When the sun is out, batsmen are jumping with joy and when it's cloudy it perks up the bowlers a little. We hope it's sunshine tomorrow and heavy clouds Monday," said Broad.

"I had got Tendulkar once before. You feel when you get any danger man out -- men like (Ricky) Ponting and (Jacques) Kallis -- you know they are the strong leaders of a batting unit. He was fantastic in his 30-odd runs but we were delighted to see his back," said Broad of his most prized wicket.

Asked about England taking control of the Test, Broad said: "It's difficult to get a result here. The stats will show so. It does get very slow and low. The key will be swing. There's a saying that at Lord's you look up (at the sky) and not down (at the pitch)."

He praised Dravid for showing fantastic patience to graft his century.

"The ball swung the whole day. His judgment on his off-stump was the particular highlight. But we bowled nicely to him and kept the pressure. There were no easy boundaries. He had to work hard for his runs."

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