The interview was first published in Mumbai Mirror on December 23, 2018
Virender Sehwag once said Matthew Hayden would step out to a new ball bowler and then sledge him… he was a typical Australian cricketer who played the game hard. He finds same qualities in Virat Kohli and says India are the favourties for the series.
Excerpts from an interview…
How do you analyse the series so far?
Both sides are playing their best cricket at this stage and that actually is making for a good competition. Things are getting exciting but I don’t think either side has flexed their muscle yet entirely. Knowing the conditions in Melbourne, I expect the MCG to have better batting conditions and a little less support to the fast bowlers. Among the individual, Cheteshwar Pujara has been outstanding, Virat Kohli as usual was exceptional, Ajinkya Rahane played dangerous cricket and R Ashwin showed how the Australian batsmen can be vulnerable to spin bowling.
From the Australian point of view…
Marcus Harris looked promising, without getting a very big score. His performance so far will give him confidence for the future, very organised and extremely composed. Usman Khawaja was outstanding but none of that would have been possible without the support of Harris and Finch on difficult conditions.
I think India’s choice of playing without a frontline spinner proved to be their undoing on hindsight and I think it won’t happen going forward, especially when you are up against the Australian batting which is susceptible to spin.
Are you surprised by India’s weakness against Nathan Lyon?
I think he was the standout bowler of the series so far, he will be handful to any batsman, in-form or outof-form. But look, it does look like India are struggling against the offspin bowler but he is in top of his game. He may not get much help at the MCG but in Sydney, he will be right back in his game again.
You being an opener, do you have any suggestions for Indian openers?
Well I think Murali (Vijay) got some very good deliveries, I don’t have a lot of criticism against him at this stage. He got a few good balls, he will be fine going forward I think. KL Rahul looked confident but he did not get runs but that can be argued.
The series is being promoted as a street brawl. It seems to be living up to the billing.
I think it is far from a street brawl. It is played in the right spirit. The players are going hard at each other. I don’t think anything said is untoward. It’s nice to see two guys going head to head. At the moment, the series poised one-all, it is going to be street battle in the next two Test matches when the emotions will be very high. Be prepared to see cricket played very hard way moving forward.
Australia seems obsessed with Virat.
I don’t think so. Virat Kohli, I think, is more Australian than Indian in many ways. He has been playing this way. He plays the game in a very competitive spirit. He is very animated, very passionate, and he is very emotional. I think a lot of Australians at all levels of sport play the game like that. They are also very competitive, they enjoy the heat of the battle. As long as there is a line and I don’t think Virat has crossed that. No match referee or conjectures off the field. So everything has remained on the field.
Mitchell Johnson called him silly and disrespectful.
Well, Mitch is entitled to his opinion and I have got mine.
What about the MCG wicket?
I think it will be much better drop-in wicket than we have seen for a very long period of time. It does not tend to break up or deteriorate like in Perth. It will be a bit batting friendly but it will be a battle of attrition actually. Whoever outscores the opposition with a big first innings total will go on to win the Test. The weather can be different, you can have four sessions in one day, it’s very hot.
You have played against many Indian sides and Ravi Shastri says it is the best in the recent times. What do you say?
I think it is. I think it is the most complete Indian team to have ever toured (Australia). India have incredible batting depth, it is very confident in the spin bowling department, it is good in fast bowling too. The young wicketkeeper (Rishab Pant) is a real breath of fresh air, he will be very good find for Test cricket. The fast bowling unit speaks for itself. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not even playing in the XI.
Finally, India or Australia and why?
I think India should clinch the series. Why because, they have a balanced side, an extremely settled bowling unit, and depth in spin. It is hard to win away from home and this will prove to be no different. But India should win, they really are the favourites, they need good partnerships, which they have not had.
Virender Sehwag once said Matthew Hayden would step out to a new ball bowler and then sledge him… he was a typical Australian cricketer who played the game hard. He finds same qualities in Virat Kohli and says India are the favourties for the series.
Excerpts from an interview…
How do you analyse the series so far?
Both sides are playing their best cricket at this stage and that actually is making for a good competition. Things are getting exciting but I don’t think either side has flexed their muscle yet entirely. Knowing the conditions in Melbourne, I expect the MCG to have better batting conditions and a little less support to the fast bowlers. Among the individual, Cheteshwar Pujara has been outstanding, Virat Kohli as usual was exceptional, Ajinkya Rahane played dangerous cricket and R Ashwin showed how the Australian batsmen can be vulnerable to spin bowling.
From the Australian point of view…
Marcus Harris looked promising, without getting a very big score. His performance so far will give him confidence for the future, very organised and extremely composed. Usman Khawaja was outstanding but none of that would have been possible without the support of Harris and Finch on difficult conditions.
I think India’s choice of playing without a frontline spinner proved to be their undoing on hindsight and I think it won’t happen going forward, especially when you are up against the Australian batting which is susceptible to spin.
Are you surprised by India’s weakness against Nathan Lyon?
I think he was the standout bowler of the series so far, he will be handful to any batsman, in-form or outof-form. But look, it does look like India are struggling against the offspin bowler but he is in top of his game. He may not get much help at the MCG but in Sydney, he will be right back in his game again.
You being an opener, do you have any suggestions for Indian openers?
Well I think Murali (Vijay) got some very good deliveries, I don’t have a lot of criticism against him at this stage. He got a few good balls, he will be fine going forward I think. KL Rahul looked confident but he did not get runs but that can be argued.
The series is being promoted as a street brawl. It seems to be living up to the billing.
I think it is far from a street brawl. It is played in the right spirit. The players are going hard at each other. I don’t think anything said is untoward. It’s nice to see two guys going head to head. At the moment, the series poised one-all, it is going to be street battle in the next two Test matches when the emotions will be very high. Be prepared to see cricket played very hard way moving forward.
Australia seems obsessed with Virat.
I don’t think so. Virat Kohli, I think, is more Australian than Indian in many ways. He has been playing this way. He plays the game in a very competitive spirit. He is very animated, very passionate, and he is very emotional. I think a lot of Australians at all levels of sport play the game like that. They are also very competitive, they enjoy the heat of the battle. As long as there is a line and I don’t think Virat has crossed that. No match referee or conjectures off the field. So everything has remained on the field.
Mitchell Johnson called him silly and disrespectful.
Well, Mitch is entitled to his opinion and I have got mine.
What about the MCG wicket?
I think it will be much better drop-in wicket than we have seen for a very long period of time. It does not tend to break up or deteriorate like in Perth. It will be a bit batting friendly but it will be a battle of attrition actually. Whoever outscores the opposition with a big first innings total will go on to win the Test. The weather can be different, you can have four sessions in one day, it’s very hot.
You have played against many Indian sides and Ravi Shastri says it is the best in the recent times. What do you say?
I think it is. I think it is the most complete Indian team to have ever toured (Australia). India have incredible batting depth, it is very confident in the spin bowling department, it is good in fast bowling too. The young wicketkeeper (Rishab Pant) is a real breath of fresh air, he will be very good find for Test cricket. The fast bowling unit speaks for itself. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is not even playing in the XI.
Finally, India or Australia and why?
I think India should clinch the series. Why because, they have a balanced side, an extremely settled bowling unit, and depth in spin. It is hard to win away from home and this will prove to be no different. But India should win, they really are the favourites, they need good partnerships, which they have not had.
Source : timesofindia[dot]indiatimes[dot]com
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