Bangalore: India opening batsman Murali Vijay said here Wednesday that the team have put the loss against Australia at Pune behind them and are determined to script a quick comeback with a good show here. The second Test starts here at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, March 4. He also differed with ICC match referee Chris Broad who call the pitch ‘poor’ and said that at best it could be called a ‘challenging track’.
Vijay was the first to admit while talking to the reporters that spilled catches had contributed to India’s downfall at Pune. “This is one area where we have put in a lot of work in the last couple of days,” Vijay told reporters. “Hence you won’t see butterfingers anymore. We let the game slip from our hands due to those dropped catches. And after conceding a huge first innings lead, which we never expected to happen, our backs were always against the wall,” he added.
The Indian opener who had a poor outing at Pune (2 & 10 and a dropped catch), however, said that the hosts were very capable of a quick turnaround. “We did that in Sri Lanka in the recent past. There also we had lost the first Test but won the series 2-1. So there’s no reason why we can’t do that at home,” Vijay told reporters. “It’s a fact that we have been beaten squarely… we have taken that on the chin and have moved forward,” he added.
As talks turned back once more to the Pune spinning track, Vijay said that at times he preferred such pitches to flat ones.
“The Pune wicket was not poor. It was a challenging wicket from ball one. As cricketers, we need to play on such wickets sometimes rather than playing on flat tracks. Actually it is a good thing because it tests your character and technique,” asserted Vijay.
Vijay stated that he expects the wicket at the Chinnaswamy Stadium to be a good one but personally he has never been bothered by the nature of the 22 yards. “I go into the middle with an open mind and look to adapt according to the pitch conditions,” he informed.
Aussies ready for Indian fightback
Australia opener David Warner said here Wednesday that they were expecting India to come back hard at them in the remaining three Tests of the series, but also added that they were ready for it.
“Look they are the No.1 Test side in the world, so naturally they will not take the defeat lying down. They are going to come back hard at us. They are a great side… but at the same time we are determined to keep the momentum going our way,” the opener told reporters.
Warner also said that young opener Matt Renshaw’s gutsy knock at Pune had taken India completely by surprise. The 20-year-old, on his first tour of India, had scores of 68 and 31 despite suffering from upset stomach and dizziness which required medical attention.
“First Test match in India, Kohli and his boys probably didn’t expect that kind of knocks from Renshaw. Why them, we also were pleasantly surprised,” Warner pointed out. “But that’s what a fresh mind does. It has the capacity to bring something new on board. Definitely it helped a long way in securing the win.”
The left-handed opener also said that the week-long training stint in Dubai had been of great help to the team. “The Dubai stint helped us overcome the fatigue factor in Pune,” pointed out Warner. “When you train everyday in temperatures close to 30 degree Celsius, the body gets toned. You don’t feel fatigued in the heat and definitely in India you need to battle heat also,” he added.
In line of fire
New Delhi: Veteran groundsman Daljit Singh’s job as chief curator of the BCCI is in line after the scathing report by the ICC which rated the Pune pitch, prepared under his guidance, as ‘poor’. This is the second time in 15 months his work has been criticised. A similar report had been given by the ICC regarding the Nagpur pitch in 2015 in the game against South Africa which India won in three days. A top official said here Wednesday that the BCCI Committee of Administrators (COA) would look into the report very seriously. “Daljit’s position will certainly be under threat as this is the second adverse ICC rating in 15,” the source said.
Agencies
