India's ace off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is livid about all the talk about the Wankhede track and the Australians' whinging ever since they lost the fourth and final cricket Test in Mumbai.
"I wonder if they had still whined if Australia, and not India, had won the Mumbai Test," Harbhajan said on phone from Mumbai, where he helped skittle out Australia for only 93 runs last week and script a 13-run win for India.
With the track continuing to draw flak from past and present Australian cricketers, including captain Ricky Ponting and former batsman Mark Waugh, Harbhajan said enough is enough.
"When we go to Australia, we never complain about the Perth pitch. Or if we are in England, we don't cry from the rooftop about the grassy and seaming conditions. So why now this outcry?" retorted Harbhajan in his inimitable style.
Also Read
Batting in the final Test was a bit like a lottery
Core of our batting needs watching
Harbhajan, who took 21 wickets from three Tests in the series, including the match-winning 5 for 29 as the Australians failed to chase a meagre 107 for victory, said Mumbai has always provided a pitch where the ball grips the surface and offers bounce.
"It has always been the case in Mumbai. Why, I remember when we played a one-dayer against Australia on their last visit in 2001, we couldn't chase 240 batting second because it spun big-time. We never complained about the quality of the pitch then."
Harbhajan believes the Australians did not have the right defensive technique and judicious selection of strokes to bat in the last innings of the match.
"Indeed, I would say Jason Gillespie showed marvelous defensive technique and had begun to frustrate us. I would say his methods were far better than some of the top order Australian batsmen."
Harbhajan said his point was best illustrated by the way Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman batted on the third morning, playing with tremendous common sense and choosing the right ball to strike.
Harbhajan also took exception to Mark Waugh's column where the former Australia batsman had criticised Sourav Ganguly and remarked that Indians will struggle to win Tests abroad with such an attitude.
"Really? I thought it was the Australians who were complaining about the Mumbai pitch. It is they who need to get on with the game.
"Incidentally, let me remind him [Mark Waugh] we have not won matches only at home in the last few years. We beat West Indies in West Indies, England in England, Pakistan in Pakistan, Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and even Australia in Australia.
"I don't think we won there because we had friendly curators."
Harbhajan also batted on behalf of his skipper while reacting to Waugh's remarks that perhaps India should look for a change in leadership rather than stick with somebody who is concerned too much about tracks.
"I would say Mark should keep his suggestion to himself. Ganguly has been around for nearly 10 years and played 75 Tests, besides nearing 10,000 runs in one-day cricket. He knows the game as well as he does."
But Harbhajan was not all fire and brimstone against the Australians. He said he has a lot of respect for someone like Adam Gilchrist who walks when he feels he is out and never appeals if he believes the batsman is not out.
"I have a lot of respect for Gilchrist because he plays hard, fair and square. Let's not whine only because the shoe is on the other foot and is pinching," he said.
