Thaindian News

Nottingham, July 27 (IANS) England off-spinner Graeme Swann says if the bowlers are able to sustain pressure on the Indian batsmen, like they did the in the Lord’s Test, the hosts can eye winning the high-profile series and becoming the World No.1 Test side.

Swann picked two wickets at Lord’s, where his team won by 196 runs with the pace trio of James Anderson, Chris Tremlett and Stuart Broad running through the famed Indian batting.

“We maintained pressure at both ends even though the ball wasn’t doing much and made sure each new batsman felt uncomfortable when he came in - which was our game plan all winter too,” Swann wrote in his column for The Sun.

“We try to work with the guy at the other end to sustain pressure and it is great when two guys are bowling well together. If we can maintain that same level of performance over the series, we will really fancy our chances of winning - and maybe even reaching No 1 in the world rankings.”

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar had a forgettable outing at the “Mecca of cricket”, scoring 34 in 12 in the two innings. Swann says the team’s strategy on getting Tendulkar cheaply worked.

“We stopped the Little Master, Sachin Tendulkar, from making a big score at Lord’s and our aim is to starve him of runs all series. It can’t be easy for Sachin because he carries the expectation of the entire Indian nation on his shoulders every time he goes out to bat.

“And now it is even more intense because he is just one away from a century of centuries.”