Anshul Kamboj stars with 2/22 in 1st ODI win vs NZ: "I focus on my cricket and improving"

Indian seamer Anshul Kamboj had a dreadful ODI debut, conceding 82 runs without picking up a wicket against the West Indies last month. Exactly a month later, on November 4 against New Zealand in the ODI series opener at Eden Park in Auckland, he picked up his first Player of the Match award in only his second ODI appearance. The right-arm medium pacer bowled 10 overs, conceded 22 runs and picked up two wickets, while his fellow quicks Arshdeep Singh and Gurnoor Brar returned with four and three wickets, respectively.

Reflecting on the quick turnaround in his brief ODI career, Anshul said one bad game cannot decide a player’s future, and his latest performance is a testament to it.

"One bad match does not decide a player's career," Kamboj said after his match-winning spell in Auckland. "I have been doing the same things right from the start. One bad match doesn't affect me much. It has only given me the motivation to do better. I don't pay attention to the chatter. I focus on my cricket and see how I can improve."

Detailing how different playing conditions in his first two ODIs impacted his performance, Kamboj said he never shied away from consistently bowling in good areas, which eventually led to a remarkable spell in Auckland.

"In cricket, if you focus more on the process than the result, then [you will be alright]. If you are executing well, if you want to bowl a yorker, if you execute well, and still go for runs, then there's no problem. You don't focus on the result, because the result won't always be in your favour. What you can do is you can execute well.

"The feedback [after his ODI debut] was that if you are bowling in good areas, then you should continue it. It's not necessary that if you execute well every time, you will get hit for runs every time. So, just focus on your execution as much as possible. Don't think too much about the result,” Kamboj continued.

While his ODI debut spell (0/82) in New Chandigarh saw him enter an unwanted category of becoming the most expensive Indian debutant, Kamboj’s 2/22 against New Zealand saw him equal the most economical 10-over spell for an Indian pacer since Javagal Srinath’s 3/13 in 2003.

"I think in one-day cricket, it is about bowling in partnerships. So, if you get such wickets where there is a lot of movement, it feels better to use it. There is movement in T20 cricket as well. But in T20 cricket, there is only one ball. So, when it gets old after four-five-six overs, then the movement decreases. In one-day cricket, there is a new ball from both ends. So, the initial 10-15 overs are good for swing. We can use it as much as we can,” he added.

Meanwhile, India beat New Zealand by five wickets to win the first ODI and take an early 1-0 lead in this five-match ODI series.