Pune pitch wasn’t so poor: India opener

Also an interesting fact states that the Chinnaswamy has been a happy hunting ground for the Aussies. Kohli, one thought, depended too much on the advice of his teammates while taking decisions to use the DRS while fielding. That’s something Underwood would do. “It was a tough Test match for us but it is part and parcel of the game …”

The second test match between India and Australia is all set to begin from tomorrow.

“Whenever we have played Test cricket out here we have done really well”, he said.

“If you pick up 12 wickets, there will be pressure”. Above all, the performances of the spin duo of Nathan Lyon and O’Keefe will be crucial for the visitors. “Our focus is not only on him”.

A few seconds later, he completes the answer. Virat Kohli and his men would be looking to bounce back after suffering a shocking 333-run loss in the first Test at Pune. At times there were two in the slips and at times a cordon of three. “His approach is quite subtle, and he can mix his pace quite appropriately”.

It’s the Australian way to always try to attack the leader and we’ve got him down. “That’s his area of strength and O’Keefe should keep that going”, Mallett says.

India would have expected this series to be a cakewalk after Australia’s repeated failures in Asia.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has the power to fine India’s board up to $A19,500. That too, on a tricky Indian surface.

The single-minded skipper has declared Australia will not suffer a let-down after the high of last week’s historic achievement, reinforcing an edict for batsmen to make defence their No.1 priority and avoid being struck on the pads by the Indian spinners at all costs. He further continued to tell that the Australian team is not doing a mistake by underestimating the Indian boys.

Vijay was the first to admit while talking to the reporters that spilled catches had contributed to India’s downfall at Pune.

Before the series commenced, Australia brought in former India spinner Sridharan Sriram as its spin bowling consultant. “Definitely it helped a long way in securing the win”. And, with a confidence that should sound a warning to India, he believes he can go there again. That would go on for hours, helping the batsman settle down. “Basically, you don’t change the practice depending upon the result”, he added.

“Australia did an India on Indian surface”. But now he needs to correct what he did in the 1st test match.

Smarting from their embarrassing loss in the first Test, where does this leave the Indian team management, and indeed the pitch curators? “Because if you show panic at the top post then the guys are obviously gonna scatter around and not play as a unit”, he had said about it in the past.

Exposing all your cards way before showdown is an act of the fearless and the confident and that is exactly what makes Australia probably the bravest cricket team in the world, going by their habit of naming the team’s playing XI one day before the start of the match. Australians just ended India’s 19 Test unbeaten run. “It was a hard wicket and we showed them we can compete in those conditions and, more importantly, we probably showed ourselves”, Smith said.

“So for me it was about playing with soft hands and figuring out where am I going to get the ones to rotate strike and the boundaries will hopefully come by me putting pressure on their bowlers with my defence”.