Tushar Deshpande attributed bowling in the right areas as the reason for the success of the Mumbai bowlers against Tamil Nadu on day one of the Ranji Trophy semifinal.
Deshpande had scalped 3/24 and reduced the visitors to 42/5 early in the innings.
"Yes, it was a good day for the team. Actually, after the toss we also wanted to bowl anyway. What stood out for us as a team was we bowled in the right channels. It was very important to bowl in the right areas,'' he added.
The Mumbai pacer also revealed he was surprised by TN's decision to bat first on the wicket.
"Yes, we were surprised, absolutely. You all can see that the pitch has enough for the pace bowlers and the shadow staying late here at BKC, pace bowlers can do a lot in the first session."
However, Deshpande didn't feel the wicket was such that Tamil Nadu should've struggled the way they did.
"I won't say it was a struggle as such. Vijay batted well and he was beaten a lot of times but he stood there and we bowled in the right channels and eventually Shardul got the edge,'' he added.
He was elated with the performance of his fellow pacers as well and felt it was a team effort.
"It's always good. There is no loose bowling. Everyone is doing well for the team. Shardul's experience is helping us a lot when things are not going our way,'' Deshpande stated.
He also dwelt a bit on the shadow factor that was aiding fast bowlers early morning.
"Due to the presence of the huge building, the shadow stays quite late and that helps with the moisture on the wicket in the mornings."
Deshpande also felt getting TN skipper Sai Kishore out early was helping their cause.
"We all know he can bat. He was there to see off the new ball, so getting him out was crucial because we know he can play some strokes."
The 28-year-old was hopeful that there will be something on the wicket for pacers in the next couple of days as well.
"I feel the juice on the pitch might be there on day two and day three first sessions as well, let's see how it goes."
TN all-rounder Vijay Shankar felt the visitors played on a wicket that wasn't easy to bat on.
"Anything around 200-220 would have been a good total. It was not an easy wicket to bat on but we could have done a lot better as a batting unit."
"Even now, the game is wide open. They are just 45/2. They need another 100 runs and anything can happen from here. As a batting unit, we need to take more responsibility. If we can get a good total on board in the second innings, you never know. Tomorrow if our third seamer can take some wickets, things can go our way,'' he added.
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