Paceman Peter Siddle took a swipe at India after another stout-hearted bowling effort put Australia on track for a 4-0 series whitewash in the final Test on Thursday.
Siddle charged in on the unresponsive flat Adelaide pitch to take five for 49, denting a few more Indian batting reputations and prolonging Sachin Tendulkar’s wait for a 100th international century. Australia were in command at the close with a massive 382-run lead after dismissing India for 272 and opting to bat again rather than enforce the follow-on on the third day.
The feisty Australian quick took aim at India’s big-name batsmen, who have consistently struggled for runs in the series in the face of the home side’s superior bowling attack. Siddle played down talk of ‘banter’ between the Australians and Virat Kohli as the Indian star almost threw away his chance of becoming the first centurion for the tourists in the series before he went to score 116. Kohli, fast running out of batting partners, was almost run out on 99 as he frantically searched for the clinching run for triple-figures. “I don’t think there was too much banter,” poker-faced Siddle said. “The bloke (Kohli) batted well to get to 99 and then to almost run himself out just ridiculously, that’s what we were trying to tell him. “You don’t want to do that to yourself when you’re on 99 and just throw your wicket away. You work so hard.
“It was just a matter of settling him down and make sure he got over the line,” Siddle said to cackles of laughter at his post-match press conference. Siddle also had a dig at opening batsman Gautam Gambhir, who said before the Test that Australia had tailored the match wickets for their bowlers. “Gambhir thought I had the luck of the green wickets but I guess there wasn’t much bounce in this wicket today and it seemed to get him out so it was a nice little reward for a wicket that is hard to bowl on,” Siddle said of his rearing delivery that had Gambhir caught. Siddle said he was delighted to have prevented Test cricket record-breaker Tendulkar from scoring his elusive 100th international century for the third time in the series. “I’m happy that he doesn’t get it (100th hundred) but I don’t mind if it’s me getting the wicket or someone else,” he said. “He’s a great player and it’s the same with their top order, we just want to build the pressure on them and get the results. “At the moment it’s working for us, so I am happy for him to make as many centuries after this series, as long as we can restrict him now, that’s the plan.”
Siddle, who has taken 22 wickets in the series at 17.36, said he was getting the results of his hard off-season work. “The hard work that I’ve put in over the last six or seven months has just come together,” he said.
