Cricket: India happy to restrict Aussies on day one

BANGALORE - A confident India were more than happy to restrict the Australian run machine to 285 for five on day one of the second and final Test at the M. Chinnaswamy cricket stadium here Saturday.

We are satisfied with our performance on the opening day as we succeeded in restricting the Aussies to a moderate 285 runs and claiming five wickets in their first innings, as we expected them to score over 300, Indian opener Virender Sehwag told reporters at a post-match press conference.

Terming the exit of Aussie skipper Ricky Pointing, who was caught plumb before the wicket to Suresh Raina’s slow spin in the final session, as the turning point, Sehwag said India would like to get the remaining five wickets at the earliest and bat the whole day to surpass their total and take a comfortable lead.

The wicket of Marcus North, who remained not out 34 and playing well, will be important on Sunday. Our strategy will be to get him out at the earliest and restrict the tail-enders to chase their total, he said.

On the playing conditions under a cloudy sky with lot of breeze, Sehwag said the pitch was damp and hence the ball was not coming to the bat.

Even the bounce was not high. I hope the pitch will dry up on third and fourth day when we will be batting, he noted.

On the exclusion of Mohali hero V.V.S. Laxman from the match, Sehwag said as the stylish Hyderabadi was suffering from back spasm, the team management decided not to risk playing him in a five-day game and worsen his injury.

Elated over the large turn of spectators at the stadium, Sehwag said it was heartening to see that many people were interested in watching Test cricket and support the home team.

“I hope more spectators will turn up Sunday and the following three days to see an exciting contest between the two strong teams, he added.