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Sachin blames wicket

Indian cricket captain Sachin Tendulkar blamed the wicket for his bowlers' inability to get New Zealand out on the final day of the third cricket Test in Ahmedabad today.

Chasing 424 for victory, New Zealand batted out the final day of the Test, scoring 252 for two in the process as the match drifted to a tame draw.

Tendulkar said: "We thought the wicket might break up a bit more. There was no vicious turn, no movement off the seam. It was a flat track where there was no scope for the bowlers.''

He felt that the track could carry on for another five days. "I have not seen a track like this in my entire life. It was not good for the spinners' turn on the fifth day. If we prepare tracks like this we will never get results,'' he declared.

On not enforcing the follow-on, Tendulkar said, "Our bowlers bowled 140 overs and two of our players were down with flu. I wanted to give them some rest and make New Zealand bat when the wicket deteriorated further."

He dismissed suggestions that enforcing the follow-on would have brought about a result. "We saw what has happened on this track. At no stage did the bowlers look like running through the side. I do not think any bowler troubled any batsmen,'' he said.

UNI