Legspin tough for left-handers - Mishra

Amit Mishra, who bowled a tight spell against Faisalabad Wolves in Mohali on Wednesday, has said he wanted to prove that he could bowl equally well to any kind of batsman. Mishra was just used for one over by his captain Shikhar Dhawan against Kandurata Maroons on Tuesday, a team with a primarily left-handed top order, but bowled his four overs for 13 runs in the second match against Faisalabad.

"I have always believed that since a legspinner has more variations, it is tougher for a left-hander to play him," Mishra told the CLT20 website. "I was waiting for a call to bowl another over, the team and the coaches were also thinking, 'when is Amit going to bowl'. But sometimes, you don't know what is going on in the captain's mind and it's best to leave some decisions to him, without thinking about it too much. Also, it was Shikhar's first game as captain and these things happen."

The Faisalabad openers had made a solid start in a must-win game for them, scoring 48 in the first six overs, but the introduction of Mishra robbed them of the momentum. Mishra struck with his second delivery and completed a maiden as the batsmen struggled to handle his variations.

"If any such thing like, 'he can't bowl to the left-handers', comes to anyone's mind, it becomes a challenge for me," Mishra said. "So, when I bowled against Faisalabad Wolves, I certainly had it at the back of my mind that I want to prove that I can bowl equally well to every kind of batsman."

Mishra was also happy with the form the team's batsmen have shown in the first two matches. "The biggest plus that I see in our performance in this tournament so far is our batting. In the IPL our batting couldn't click too often but now Shikhar is in such good form, Parthiv is in good nick and the following batsmen are also scoring runs. Our bowling and fielding have always been good, so having these runs on board is a huge boost for us."

Mishra, one of the leading spinners in the format, said flight and spin remain his main weapons even in T20 cricket and it's his attacking bowling that has reaped rewards for him. "There are times when the situation demands that I bowl to stop runs," he said. "But even then, I ensure that it doesn't affect my flight or spin. I have added variations in my arsenal so that before hitting me, the batsman thinks whether it is a googly, top-spin, flipper or slider. So, even when I am bowling to stop runs, I don't want to do it with defensive bowling."