Zaheer Khan

Bangalore: Zaheer Khan had reserved his most vicious delivery for the end of the opening Test. The Man of the Match didn’t waste an opportunity to take a dig at Ricky Ponting’s men, dubbing them the most defensive Australian team he has come across.

“They were very defensive. I mean I’ve never seen an Australian team play such defensive cricket, which is a good thing for us,” Zaheer said on Monday.

Zaheer took six wickets in the match, including five for 91 in the first innings, before forging a crucial eighth wicket partnership with Harbhajan Singh en route to his unbeaten 57. Their partnership brought India back into the match.

Ponting was surprised by Zaheer’s charge. “I don’t know what he means, to tell the truth,” the Australian captain said. “We were the only ones trying to take the game forward. We played aggressive cricket. He can have a little bit of a chuckle on the inside at what he’s had to say. I don’t think it means too much to us.”

Zaheer said the Australian bowlers had been largely ineffective throughout the opening Test. “They know they can’t take 20 wickets and they are on the back foot… They couldn’t get me or Bhajji out. So we are in with a big chance. They are under pressure and we know that. So we are looking ahead to the second game.”

The pacer couldn’t hide his happiness after India forced a draw at the Chinnaswamy. “It cannot get better than this and I am extremely happy with the way things have gone in this Test.

“On a fifth day pitch the spinners could not do us any harm. That shows what their spin attack is all about. Even the pacers didn’t look like getting wickets at any stage today,” he said.

“Looking at the wicket, we were in trouble the moment we lost the toss. But in the end we did very well.”

Zaheer, who was involved in an argument with Brad Haddin while batting on the third day, said he expected such behaviour from Australia.

“We all know Aussies do all these kind of things... We settled the matter on the field and did not take it any further.”

Zaheer said Harbhajan had kept him in good spirits during their 80-run partnership.

“Bhajji was advising me all the time… He was making sure I was on the front foot and stuff like that…On the odd occasion, he would crack a joke too. That was important to soothe the nerves.”

There’s no doubt that Zaheer’s explosive remarks will add a new chapter to the mind games between the two teams. Match Referee Chris Broad had urged both teams, before the start of the series, to refrain from making “inappropriate public comments”.