I think I bowled really well on my Test debut: Pankaj Singh

282 balls, 179 runs; 0 wickets. Pankaj Singh’s numbers with the ball on his much-awaited Test debut at Edgbaston in 2014. His wait to bag a Test wicket came to an end on the 416th ball he delivered conceding 274 runs. Talking about a forgettable debut, the sturdy pacer said, “I think I really bowled well in that match. In 10-15 matches, 1 match comes in where you bowl really well but won’t get you a wicket. Unfortunately, that came in the first match for me.”

Pankaj Singh, the captain of Team Rajasthan is currently leading his team against Maharashtra in the 4th round of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Maharashtra posted 461 after electing to bat while Rajasthan ended the 2nd day at 75/2.

He was hopeful about a better show from the batsmen. Talking about the game, he told CricTracker: “It is a good batting wicket. Obviously, good bounce for the bowlers also. If you bowl well in the right areas, you will have something. Basically, we are not scoring well. We are not batting really well. But I hope we do better in this match.”

Pankaj completed the milestone of 25 first-class 5-wicket hauls during the previous round game against Jharkhand. Against Assam, he led his side to secure a bonus-point win in the game. Reflecting on the milestone and his first-class career, the captain added, “Obviously, it feels good when you perform and team wins, which makes much happier than anything. Hopefully, I can continue few more years.”

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The Team Rajasthan is blessed with a pace attack that has quite a variety like speedster Nathu Singh, left-arm pacers Tanvir-ul-Haq and Aniket Choudhary. Speaking about the pacers and how he motivates himself and the team as the captain and also as the leader of the pace attack, Pankaj said, “We have a good bowling unit. The 461 is the highest score against us. Motivation is needed to play any Cricket. Playing for country is the first thing for anyone. You have to dream and try to play for country. If you think like that, you can put your 100%. I just come in every season saying myself this year I am going to do my best well and get picked for the Indian team.”