New Delhi: The match was done and dusted inside three days, against India. Three days earlier, such a result was unthinkable. On the eve of the match, there were talks of a series whitewash. Strangely enough, it still looks a distinct possibility, but from another perspective.
What really happened in Pune was catastrophic for Virat Kohli & Co. The Indian team, which had not tasted defeat in the previous 19 matches, gave in to an unheralded spinner and collapsed twice in a span of 24 hours in epic proportions.
Only a series ago, India were scoring runs for fun. And they were being hailed as one of the greatest Indian Test sides, if not the best. They dominated teams, dictated terms and every call, review returned positive.
But in Pune, they were capitulated. And the wrecker-in-chief was a certain Steve O’Keefe – who was not even an Australian by birth. After spending much of his playing career in the periphery, the 32-year-old finally arrived in India to breach a fortress.
The spinner returned with an enviable match figures of 12 for 70 in 28.1 overs, which is more or less reserved for the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. In the process, O’Keefe reduced the famed Indian batting stars to mere pedestrians.
So what really transpired in Pune, and what made such a fairytale script possible for the Malaysia-born cricketer.
After his 6 for 35 on Friday, the spinner singled out an individual to thank for his success. Strangely enough, that individual was an Indian, Sridharan Sriram.
“I think the biggest influence has been Sri (Sriram). I’ve worked with him in Chennai in the ‘A’ series. I come on the field, I get to speak with him, he’s a local so he knows the conditions. I get to spend lunch time bowling with him. And he understands how to bowl in these conditions. How the batters are thinking. He has been the biggest help along with the other coaching staff,” O’Keefe told yesterday.
For the record, Sriram has already been hailed as a ‘spin guru’ in Australia. In one of the many articles, which have surfaced since O’Keefe authored the first of Indian collapse, Sriram’s career was profiled like no one has done.
In the write-up, the Indian spin consultant was hailed as the one to help Australia “unlock the secrets of thriving on the subcontinent.”
“Sriram, a left-handed all-rounder who averaged 53 with the bat and claimed 85 wickets at 46 with his left-arm spin, joined forces with Australia during their pre-tour camp in Dubai.
“He was also part of the coaching team during the ill-fated campaign in Sri Lanka. The partnership, however, is starting to bear fruit on the toughest tour of them all,” it added.
O’Keefe produced a similar script in the second essay, another 6 for 35 as Australia broke their 13-year winless streak in India.
Source: Zee News