Zaheer Blasts about the Australian Team.
Sethu Maathavan
October 14, 2008
Bangalore: India New found All rounder the man who made a lot of contributions to the match to end in a draw rather than a loss and a miracle 80 run partnership that changed the course of the game had a dig at Ricky ponting’s men saying that he never came across such a defensive Australian team.
"They were very defensive. I mean I have never seen an Australian team play such defensive cricket, which is a good thing for us," said Zaheer.
The left arm pacer who took 5 wickets in the first innings and was the top scorer of the Indian first innings with 57 and was unbeaten till the end said Aussies had come a cropper in the first Test and that
"Aussies talk big about scoring four runs per over in a Test match but they could not do so here. They could not get me and Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) out in the first innings till we put on 80 runs. Their spinners could not do anything on a fifth day track and even their fast bowlers struggled throughout," Zaheer said after the match in the press conference.
"We are in with a big chance of winning the series as the pressure is on the Aussies to take 20 wickets," said the Zaheer.
About the on-field row with Brad Haddin, the Aussie wicketkeeper, he said "We all know the Aussies' way of playing cricket. It was just one of those on-field tactics they use to unsettle the opposition. I think we have given them a fitting reply by frustrating them for most part of the match."
Zaheer also said the team is working on getting out Mathew Hayden as early as possible.
"We're working to get Hayden out early. It is our aim to get him early as he plays spin bowling very well and once he settles down he could be very dangerous," he said.
Zaheer was happy after the hosts provided some fight and drew the match which at one stage seemed like were not going the host’s way.
"It cannot get better than this and I'm extremely happy with the way things have gone in this match.”
"Looking at the wicket, we were in trouble the moment we lost the toss. But in the end, we did very well. To get a draw on wicket like this would boost our morale going into the second Test," said Zaheer.
Zaheer and Ishant Sharma shared 9 wickets in the first Innings, and Zaheer was impressed with the way Ishant provided him the support.
"Well, bowling in tandem with Ishant is a pleasure. He has pace, is tall and gets that bounce off wicket. He was pretty impressive, When you have someone bowling at 140 kmph it really makes things difficult for the batsman." Zaheer gushed.
Another thing that he was impressed with was with Bhaji’s (Harbhajan Singh’s)performance, with whom Zaheer had a crucial 80 run partnership which is believed to the turning point of the match.
Zaheer said “Bhajji kept me keyed up and never ran short of suggestions.“
"Bhajji was advising me all the time," Zaheer said. "He was making sure I was on the front foot and stuff like that. On odd occasions, he would crack a joke that was important too (to calm the nerves)," he added.
Tags: India , Zaheer , Ishant , Ricky Ponting , Brad Haddin , Bhajii , Harbhajan , 80 , Run , Patnership
