I owe my fifer to Praveen: Imtiaz

Ghaziabad - Uttar Pradesh pacer Imtiaz Ahmed, who bagged his maiden first-class fifer Friday against a star-studded Delhi, credited his success to team mate and India bowler Praveen Kumar.

Imtiaz (5-52) and the seasoned Praveen (3-56) made the best use of the overcast conditions to skittle out Delhi for for 235 in their first innings.

Imtiaz, who was playing his seventh first-class match, said tips from the street-smart Praveen helped him to make the best of the morning conditions that was conducive for pace bowling.

“Praveen was telling me what to do all the time. He was very helpful. He planned every dismissal. I followed what he said and the result is right in front of me,” said the 26-year-old Imtiaz.

“Praveen told me to play to my strengths and that is what I did. I swung the ball in the morning and the wicket supported me. It is a good deck to ball on. The ball carried well to the keeper and I enjoyed that,” he said.

Imtiaz said having a coach in former India pacer Venkatesh Prasad, also a former bowling coach with the national team, has helped him.

“Skipper Suresh Raina was also very helpful. He just asked me to maintain my line and length and that is exactly what I did. It is good when you have senior players around you. Having Venkatesh Prasad as a coach is very helpful. He helped me with his vast experience,” said Imtiaz.