MOHALI // The India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni cited reverse swing as a key reason for India's victory over Australia. The hosts won the second Test by 320 runs to take the lead in the four-match series. Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan were key weapons in the India armoury in both innings, accounting for a total of eight wickets between them.
And Dhoni, who was standing in for injured skipper Anil Kumble, was pleased with the movement they managed to achieve. "A lot depended on how quickly we were able to get the ball to reverse," he said. "The new ball offered very little so it was important to maintain the ball. "The guys whose task it was to maintain the ball did that pretty well and our bowlers were able to generate reverse swing in the 12th or 13th over.
"It becomes tough for batsmen when the ball reverse swings especially when it is hard and fairly new. We bowled in the right areas as well - our first 13 overs only cost us 20-odd runs. Dhoni's counterpart Ricky Ponting was still wondering how a Sharma delivery came back in sharply to claim his wicket. The lanky bowler got Ponting for the fifth time in as many Tests. "Ishant's ball would have got me out 95 times out of 100. I have to find a way to combat him," Ponting said. "He is unusual with his angles. How many bowlers around can bring the ball back that way?"
Ponting conceded his side will now face an unfamiliar challenge as they attempt to win their Test series against India from 1-0 down. Australia have a tough task beating India in New Delhi, the venue for the third Test next week and where the hosts have been near impregnable. "That's the challenge we are confronted with right now," he said. "We are not accustomed to being behind in Test series. "But at the end of the day, you can only take away the lessons you might have learned.
"Once we get back from a couple of days off we will sit down and discuss what we ought to do and what we want to achieve and how we do that for the remainder of the series. Meanwhile, Australia called up Shaun Marsh in favour Andrew Symonds of to fill the void caused by an injury to Phil Jacques . * Agencies
