Pune wicket was not poor — Vijay

NEW DELHI — Batsman Murali Vijay Wednesday rejected the idea that the Pune pitch was to blame for India’s drubbing in the first Test against Australia despite it being classified as “poor” by the match referee. Virat Kohli’s team crumbled twice for totals of 105 and 107 in the two innings at Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, going down to less fancied Australia by 333 runs. The nature of the Pune track, which turned sharply from day one, prompted the International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee Chris Broad to express concern over the quality of the pitch. But speaking ahead of the second Test which begins in Bangalore Saturday, Vijay resisted the temptation to blame the pitch for India’s meek showing in Pune which brought an end to a 19-match unbeaten run. “I don’t say the Pune wicket was a poor wicket. It was a challenging wicket from ball one,” the Indian opening batsman told reporters. “As cricketers we need to play on such wickets to test your ability rather than playing on flat tracks,” said Vijay, who registered scores of 10 and 2 in his two outings in Pune. Vijay, like many others, expected a sporting track at Bangalore’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium but insisted that he is not too bothered about the character of the wicket.— AFP