Ishant takes dig at Aus media over no balls
Australia seemed to wrest the advantage after plucking India’s openers cheaply but they were thwarted by a fightback engineered by Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane.
NO BUMRAH
India’s decision not to open the bowling with Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav on Day 2 was strange. On Day 1 Bumrah drew a higher proportion of false shots while Umesh’s extra pace is an asset. Eventually Kohli turned to them but not before Australia added 29 runs in the first hour.
PITCH IT UP
In the first hour on Day 2 India opted for a short ball tactic to Tim Paine since he only averages 15 playing the pull. But movement in the pitch, India may have persisted a tad too long. India started bowling fuller after drinks and got four wickets in 5.3 overs – two to good length balls and two to full length balls. PERTH:INDIA pacer Ishant Sharma Saturday took a jibe at the Australian media when discussions turned to front-foot no balls, following the second day’s play in the second Test here.
Ishant was guilty of bowling a few no balls in the first Test which escaped the on-field umpires’ attention. While his propensity to overstep denied India wickets on two occasions, the poor policing of front-foot slip-ups attracted the ire of the host nation.
“Maybe Australian media should answer the question. Not me. I have been playing cricket for so long. And these things happen. Because you are a human, you are bound to make a mistake. I was not worried about it at all,” Ishant said on Saturday.
He said that the counter attack from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was vital as India ended the day 154 short of Australia’s 326, with seven wickets in hand.
“Whenever Virat is batting we feel confident. We finished the day in a strong position. Hopefully they will both continue. The game is in the balance right now. Hopefully we will dominate the first session tomorrow,” Ishant said.
“Rahane added quickfire 20-30 runs and they were really needed at that time. If they had played defence then Australia would have stayed on their plans and it was important for him to counter attack to force them to change plans,” he added.
Sharma recovered from a poor spell, especially in the morning session on day one, to finish with 4-41 as Australia only added 49 to their overnight score of 277-6.
“I think the wicket was really slow at that time. It wasn’t as up and down as it was after lunch when there was something there for the bowlers. The first hour was the best time to bat on at that wicket. As a senior bowler, a responsibility has been added.
“Whenever there is tough situation I like to bowl and take wickets. I have seen senior bowlers put up their hand in tough situations in the past and at that time I didn’t know much about it. But now in tough situations, I want to do the same,” he said.
India lead the four-match series 1-0 following their 31-run win at Adelaide and they entered the second game high on confidence.