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Not at all fussy: Michael Hussey dropped a perfect anchor to the Australian innings with a ton on the second day of the yesterday. |
All his strengths were on display during his invaluable hundred in the first innings of the opening Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium yesterday. His zero-risk game suited the slow wicket perfectly. The southpaw held the innings together by keeping one end intact for about seven hours as he helped Australia to a highly competitive total of 430.
Master of singles
Few can match Hussey when it comes to picking gaps in the field. Like any good batsman, he did not let go of any opportunity to punish loose balls. But, the feature of the left-hander's innings was the way he ran his ones and twos. Not only was his placement precise, he pushed the ball with such calculated pace neither too hard nor too slow that it gave him ample time to run the single. His nudges for twos in open spaces were equally frustrating for Kumble and Co.
The Indian bowlers failed to work out a strategy for him. India's defensive tactics perfectly suited his game. He was not pushed to take any risks.
Quite remarkably, this is Hussey's first Test in India and he said his game was perfectly suited for batting here. "India is a great place to bat and it probably suits my style to be patient. I guess we played my style of play, the patient game of Test cricket. You get rewards for your shots because the outfields are so fast here. You just have to place the ball," said Hussey.
Hussey laid emphasis on building partnerships. The 91-run partnership with Brad Haddin (33) and 59-run association with Brett Lee (27) were vital after Australia lost Shane Watson for the addition of only five runs to the overnight total.
Tough
"The first 15-20 minutes in your innings is particularly tough. My message to the lower order guys was to just try to stay relaxed through that initial period and then it can get a lot better for batting. The other thing is to show a lot of faith in those guys. They work pretty hard on their batting. I think Brett played well today and we had a useful partnership towards the end of our innings," said Hussey.
In 26 Tests, Hussey averages a whopping 70-plus with nine hundreds. The 33-year-old did not get a break in Test cricket till he was 30 and he is hungry to make it count every time he goes out to bat.
"It took me a long time to get into the Australian team so I just want to take every opportunity that I get and never take it for granted. I wear the baggy green cap with a lot of pride. So every day is very, very important and very special."
