Melbourne, Dec 28: After being hit for a six by Sachin Tendulkar early in his innings, Australian fast-bowler Peter Siddle got the prize wicket in the last over of Day 2. The local boy had earlier castled Rahul Dravid only to be denied the wicket on account of having bowled a no ball.
Siddle, who had contributed a valuable 41 runs to the host’s first-innings total, spoke about getting through the defense of two of the world’s greatest batsmen, before the start of play on Day 3.
Excerpts:
On getting the wicket of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar
Yes, sort of I did [make enemies by getting Tendulkar out]. Everyone I spoke to said that; well done but on the other hand I definitely got a lot of enemies, that’s for sure.
On the confidence gained from claiming the wickets of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid [the latter off a no-ball]
Yes, it does [give me confidence]. [Dravid] is one of those players, it’s sort of hard to get through his gate and obviously to get Tendulkar [later] [was also special]. [To] pick [Dravid’s] wicket, then [for it to] get taken back as a no ball still does give you the confidence that you can get through him. I got a chance to get him out that way. Good confidence to get Tendulkar at the end of the day. [His wicket] put us in a better position than we could have been so it’s always a nice way to finish the day.
On his bowling speed increasing after bowling Dravid off a no ball
I think so. I am feeling strong at the moment and so you get through the whole day; that’s been a big positive. It is always disappointing to miss out on a wicket so it did pop me up a little bit and it gives you a fire in the belly that makes you get the next wicket. That did help, it’s true.
On what he believed would be a reasonable first-innings lead for Australia [India were 214 for the loss of three wickets at the end of Day 2]
Any runs, whether it is one run or fifty runs. But I think at this stage there is still a lot of work for us to do; seven wickets in the shed, so we’ve got to work hard this morning. [There’s still] 14 overs to [be bowled before] the new ball; maybe [we can] get a couple of quick wickets there with the old one and [then] take the new ball and attack with that one. We’ll see where we go from there but a lot of hard work [awaits]. There’s a lot of cricket to be played today.
On whether the pitch would change on Day 3
It might not be too bad. [There’s] a little bit of grass on the wicket, there’s still enough in there for a little bit of seam and movement off the deck. We’ll see how we go. It’s a matter of the opposition bowling well to get to you. If we get a couple of wickets early and use the new ball, [we] get a bit of movement, shape with that. It’s going to be a big part of the day if we can get through that, get a few wickets. It should set us up nicely.
