Vijay Hazare Trophy: MS Dhoni's advice worked, says Shahbaz Nadeem

Jharkhand's spinner Shahbaz Nadeem. File Pic

Jharkhand's left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem yesterday broke a two-decade old world record for the best bowling performance in List 'A' cricket as he claimed eight wickets for just 10 runs against Rajasthan in the Vijay Hazare Trophy at Chennai.

Nadeem's splendid 10-4-10-8 spell helped his team beat the Ashok Menaria-led Rajasthan by seven wickets in the Elite Group 'C' tie. He bettered former India and Delhi left-arm spinner Rahul Sanghvi's 8-15, achieved in a Ranji Trophy one-dayer for Delhi against Himachal Pradesh in 1997-98.

In Dubai with Team India
Nadeem was in Dubai from September 14 to 17 and bowled to Rohit Sharma & Co during their preparation for the ongoing Asia Cup. And while he bowled his heart out in the nets, he received some vital advice from his statemate MS Dhoni. "Mahi bhai assured me I was bowling well, but I needed to take care of the field placements. He guided me on setting fields for different batsmen, who try particular shots frequently. To create additional pressure on the batsmen, he suggested specific field placements," Nadeem told mid-day over the phone from Chennai yesterday.

About his experience in the India nets, Nadeem said: "Though I have bowled to all these India batsmen in the T20, bowling to them at the India nets was totally a new experience for me. I asked them how I bowled or which delivery of mine did they struggle to pick, so you get first-hand acknowledgement. You get a fair idea whether you are on the right track, so bowling to the Indian team is a morale-booster."

How did Dhoni's advice help Nadeem land up in the record books? "Mahi bhai advised me on how to challenge particular batsmen who are difficult to dismiss so I implemented his advice in today's game and I was rewarded by clean bowling Rajasthan opener Amitkumar Gautam. It was my first wicket. When I noticed that the batsman was trying to play across the line, I removed the mid-wicket fielder and placed him at gully. He tried to play across again and was bowled."

Nadeem got a congratulatory call from Sanghvi after yesterday's show at the TI Cycles ground in Murugappa. "Rahul congratulated me and said that it was good that another left-arm spinner broke his record," recalled Nadeem, who represents Delhi Daredevils in the IPL. Nadeem has claimed 375 wickets in 99 first-class games while his List 'A' tally has reached 124 in 87 games.

'A special performance'
"Only rarely can you achieve such a feat in your life, so it has to be a special performance. I am delighted that my record performance helped my side win the game. After all, Rajasthan are last season's domestic T20 champions. Today, they started well but I got a little bit of support from the pitch and capitalised on it by bowling the right line and length without trying out too many variations," Nadeem remarked.

Rajasthan chose to bat first, scored 32 in the first nine overs, but the introduction of Nadeem into the attack for the 10th over changed things drastically as Rajasthan were bowled out for a mere 73 runs in 28.3 overs.

What's List 'A'?
A limited overs game - domestic or international - ranging from 40 to 60 overs-a-side is considered a List 'A' fixture.

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