Imran Tahir, who took a match-winning 7 for 45, said he was able to focus solely on attacking in light of South Africa piling up 343 for 4 against West Indies in St Kitts

Firdose Moonda16-Jun-20162:21

‘Every wicket very special for me’ – Tahir

A side normally known for its seam prowess, South Africa, now have a record-breaking spinner to boast about too. Imran Tahir’s 7 for 45 against West Indies are the best figures by any bowler from his country in ODIs.While picking up that haul, Tahir also became the quickest South African to 100 wickets. The legspinner has played 58 matches, one fewer than Morne Morkel who held the previous record.Tahir was able to do his job without worrying about keeping the runs down thanks to his team-mates putting up 343 for 4 in 50 overs. “I had the freedom to bowl whatever I wanted to because the boys put a decent total on the board, especially on a track like this,” he said. “They put us in a position where the bowlers could do whatever they want to do and try to attack and that’s what we did and things went well for us.”South Africa posted the only score over 300 in the Caribbean tri-series so far to silence criticism about their long tail, but it did not always look like it would be enough.West Indies were racing along at 58 for 0 after six overs when Tahir was introduced. His over, full of sliders and googlies, was the first not to include a boundary and his next one produced a wicket – Andre Fletcher caught at deep midwicket. It underlined Tahir’s ability to be effective even against big-hitting batsmen with the field restrictions in place.”They [West Indies] are attacking players and we know that. When someone attacks you, there is always an opportunity and that’s what I look for,” Tahir said. “The West Indian boys can chase anything. It is a big challenge as a spinner to play modern day cricket, where you have to have five players in the circle. Thanks to technology, you can sit and see the opposition’s mistakes and try to learn from them. It’s very challenging as a spinner but it’s good as well because that makes you perfect.”After his initial breakthrough, Tahir was brought back in the middle overs, a period when he has controlled proceedings for South Africa over the last two years. On Wednesday, he removed Marlon Samuels, West Indies’ match-winner when they chased 266 against Australia, for 24.It is unusual for South Africa to play two specialist spinners but they have done so in every match of this series – and once even fielded three. The combination of Tahir and left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi has helped the balance of their attack and showed that they do posses bowlers who can exploit slower surfaces.”He is a very good talent,” Tahir said of Shamsi. “I’m very happy to see him bowling like that. I’ve been working with him for a long time. He is a brother to me. We played together for a few years in domestic cricket and it’s really nice to see him doing what he is doing.”In a country that has lacked for spin-bowling role-models, Shamsi will have few better teachers than Tahir, who broke the back of West Indies’ chase and then returned to feast on the tail. He got rid of Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite off successive balls and Kieron Pollard later in the same over to take his second career five-for, and then topped up with two more wickets to end with figures better than any South African so far.”I feel really proud. I will take that any day,” Tahir said. “I’m just really pleased. When things like this happen, you feel good about yourself and all the hard work you’ve done in the nets.”