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Bond 'wanted to get out' of India after blasts

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, has said his last few days in India were "nervy" following the bomb blasts outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium

Cricinfo staff
22-Apr-2010
The Bangalore blasts made Shane Bond want to leave India as soon as possible  •  Getty Images

The Bangalore blasts made Shane Bond want to leave India as soon as possible  •  Getty Images

New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond, who played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, has said his last few days in India were "nervy" following the bomb blasts outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of the match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Mumbai Indians on April 17.
"It [the Bangalore bombing] definitely made me nervier. We went over there with the threat, I guess, but when that happened it became a reality," Bond told the New Zealand Herald. "We [Kolkata] had one game left at that stage and knew we couldn't qualify for the semifinals, so we just wanted to get out of there, really."
Bond said he was concerned about New Zealand team-mate Ross Taylor, who was at the Chinnaswamy Stadium at the time of the blasts. "I was nervous, but for him [Taylor] it was a different level."
Bond played eight league games for Kolkata, taking nine wickets with an economy-rate of 7.22, and was satisfied with his effort. "It wasn't too bad, I was pretty happy with the way I bowled," he said. "I missed a few games in the middle, which was disappointing, but I came back pretty strongly in the last few games. I missed out at Bangalore for whatever reason and that was the quickest wicket we played on, so that was probably a mistake."
Bond and Kolkata team-mate Brendon McCullum did not stay back for the IPL closing ceremony and arrived in Christchurch on Wednesday night. They will soon fly to Brisbane before leaving for Guyana for the ICC World Twenty20 which begins on April 30. New Zealand are in Group B along with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.