Harbhajan slams Motera pitch, Steyn says Indians got scared |
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Friday April 4, 02:06 AM
Harbhajan Singh slammed the pitch at Motera, saying India should prepare wickets to assist spin so that they can exploit their home advantage.
"All countries prepare wickets to suit their sides, we should also do that. The last time we played here, there was red soil on the wicket, this time I can't see any red.
"There was a lot of grass on the wicket. The ball did not turn at all today," he said. "Historically, India have won more matches because of their traditional strength - spin. But in India, wickets keep changing constantly. That's why you see more draws now."
Batsmen to blame too
The offie, however, said that the batsmen should also take the blame for not applying themselves. "We can't only complain about the pitch. Our batsmen didn't apply themselves. On this track, a batsman can't swing the bat like he could in Chennai. "Hopefully, in the second innings, we will come up with a better performance."
But he backed the decision to bat first. "It's a green-top. But we thought it would become a good wicket to bat on if we could have seen off the first hour. We should have batted better."
Meanwhile, South African pacer Dale Steyn said his team had managed to unsettle the Indians with their planned assault, starting with Sehwag. "We first pitched short to him and then bowled fuller. In fact we did that to the other batsmen too. None of them were committing on to the front foot. So we were getting edges from full-length deliveries."
Steyn also felt that India didn't have a plan coming into the match. "The batsmen did not know what to do. India were scared after two wickets were down. The new batsmen didn't know how to approach their batting," the 24-year old said.
Taken aback
Steyn, who rated this five-for performance as his best in the sub-continent, said he was taken aback to see the wicket.
"I was surprised. I've never seen a pitch with so much grass in the sub-continent. It was different from the one in Chennai," he said, adding that he enjoyed Rahul Dravid's wicket the most.
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