Chennai, March 19: In a career that has spanned over a decade, Ashish Nehra has struggled with injuries right through. Back into the playing eleven after an injury, Nehra started his 2011 ICC World Cup campaign on an unfortunate note. He was unable to contain the South Africa batsmen in India’s previous game when they needed 13 off the last over.

BCCI.tv caught up for an exclusive interview with the lanky left-arm pacer where he philosophically speaks about the Cricket World Cup and what happened in that last over against South Africa.

You have been bowling exceedingly well at the death and in the Powerplays over the last couple of years. Do you feel hurt that people forget all the good work when an Indian cricketer has just one bad day at office?

This is okay. This is not new in Indian cricket especially with a big event like the World Cup. I know what I am doing. This wasn’t the first time that I have bowled the last over. Perhaps, I am the bowler who must have bowled the most number of last overs for India and also in the Powerplays. This is the first time things didn’t go my way. I mean one day you do well, one day you do badly. As long as I know my abilities, I know what I am doing for myself and the team, it’s okay.

Captain MS Dhoni has been rock solid behind his players. He said he will still give you the last over if there is such a match situation again. Your comments:

MS [Dhoni] has always been like that. It’s not only me, if you see over the past couple or three four years since he's become captain, he's been doing so well and he knows how much pressure there is and how much it takes to deliver. He has seen me delivering so many times. He is a great captain. He knows how difficult it is for the bowler in that situation, as a batsman even when you are batting. He knows the game, he knows the situation for sure. Not only me, he backs everybody and you can see the results in the last couple of years. One bad game here and there, that’s going to happen.

Can you please relive the first three deliveries of the 50th over against South Africa?

It happened just recently and even if it would have happened three years ago, I always remember what I have done. You can say I bowled just one bad delivery, or say execution wasn’t right. I looked to bowl a yorker and it went for six. But before that, I bowled a yorker that went for a four off the edge. After that the game was more or less over. Like I said earlier, it’s fine.

Tell us about your partnership with Zaheer Khan. You guys have been bowling together for quite some time now.

Zaheer [Khan] has been a wonderful partner, as well as a wonderful friend over a period. I mean it’s been more than ten years since we have been playing together and so we have a very good relationship. And we have very good memories of the many times we have done so well for India. We always back each other, so it’s always been a wonderful relationship.

The 2003 ICC World Cup was great for you. So how has 2011 been vis-à-vis 2003?

That time I was young and from the start for the tournament I had good memories. I was bowling well from the first game onwards. This tournament I have started late. The first three or four games I missed because of injuries. I will still say this World Cup has just started for me. If you see I have basically played only one game, that was the last game. In India that’s how it works. So many people must be saying Ashish Nehra is not having a good World Cup , but I have played only one game . God willing, we will play another four games. My World Cup has just started. So my best is yet to come in this World Cup and hopefully I can deliver in the crunch situations like in the quarter-final, semi-final and final.