Rather than worry too much about how much spin he was getting, Senuran Muthusamy focused on the right area to land deliveries.
Muthusamy, like fellow slow bowlers Simon Harmer and Prenelan Subrayen, knows they are under the microscope in the subcontinent, with conditions weighted so heavily in their favour.
That kind of expectation, Muthusamy admitted, can be a burden, as appeared to be the case on the first day in Lahore. However, on Monday, with game plans clearer, all three executed superbly, though it was Muthusamy who gained the majority of the reward, finishing with 6/117 — his first Test five-wicket haul.
“The conditions are as spin-friendly as I’ve played in,” said the 31-year-old, who is playing in his sixth Test. I was just focused on landing the ball in a consistent area. We were not as consistent as we wanted to be on the first day.”
In dealing with those expectations in the subcontinent, visiting spinners usually try too much or can get too excited when the ball grips and spins past the bat. It’s a lot like fast bowlers from other countries who come to SA and get carried away with the pace and bounce.
The key to good spin bowling in the subcontinent is to be boring.
“I wasn’t too worried about the pace I was bowling; I did want to vary it, but it was more about our lengths, and I thought I and the other guys did that well today,” said Muthusamy.
“We bowled well as a unit; we all contributed. I’m just really grateful to pick up the wickets.”
We have to be resilient, strong defensively and show good intent.
— Senuran Muthusamy
Those lengths allowed Muthusamy to bring the Pakistani batters forward, which saw him challenge the edge more, with two batters caught behind, while Noman Ali didn’t reach the pitch of the ball and was bowled.
For Muthusamy, Monday was the fulfilment of more than a decade's toiling on the domestic scene and slowly shifting from being a top-order and then middle-order batter to becoming an all-rounder, who has proved more efficient with his slow left-arm spin.
“I took a lot from watching [Sri Lankan] Rangana Herath; he was a real source of inspiration for my game,” said Muthusamy.
“Spending most of my formative years in Durban, I played a lot with Kesh [Maharaj], which was awesome.”
It was Maharaj whom Muthusamy replaced in the Lahore Test, however, with SA’s leading Test spinner set to return for the second Test in Rawalpindi next week, it is hard to see how Muthusamy will be dropped after Monday’s showing.
Before then Muthusamy has a job to do with the bat. All the expertise from his early days higher up the order will be required, with the Proteas needing to cut into Pakistan’s advantage after the tourists lost four wickets for 26 in 10 overs in the last hour of the second day.
They still trail by 162 runs with four first-innings wickets in hand.
“We have to be resilient, strong defensively and show good intent,” said Muthusamy, who looked more assured than some of his teammates in the 19 balls he faced on Monday.
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