He managed to notch up a five-wicket haul but Indian medium pacer Mohammad Shami on Wednesday said it was tough to bowl on the flat deck here and his team’s bowlers should not be criticised for conceding 572 runs to Australia in the ongoing fourth and final cricket Test.
Shami managed figures of five for 112 in the Australian first innings, which closed at 572/7 after which Rohit Sharma and Kl Rahul helped India reach 71/1 at close of play. “It’s tough for fast bowlers to bowl on a flat pitch. It is important to maintain your line and length. When it becomes easier for batsmen to play shots, it becomes tough for us,” said Shami.
“It’s not correct to say that we are struggling. If they are scoring 450-plus runs we too are scoring 400-plus runs. There isn’t much difference. All I can say is hard luck. “Australian bowlers are bowling in their home grounds, so they are used to the conditions here and are aware of what line and length they should be bowling. We tried the same thing but they batted well. So it’s all part of the game, sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t,” he added.
When asked if non-stop cricket left players with sufficient time for recovery, Shami replied, “You have seen how many matches are happening these days. We don’t have the time to think about it. Whichever format we play, we start working on our bowling accordingly and it doesn’t matter whether it’s the red or white ball. These days there is no need to teach someone, you just have to plan once you grab the ball.”