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'It will be great if we make 500 and take the series'
After brutalizing India with the fastest century by an opener in the third cricket Test in Perth on Friday, Australia batsman David Warner said the visiting team's future is bleak, as their youngsters have a long way to go in learning how to cope with fast and bouncy tracks.
Warner harped on the vulnerability of the youngsters in the visiting team on fast and bouncy tracks and wondered where Indian cricket will stand once the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid retire.
"The challenge for India has always been how they perform outside. Everyone talks about bouncy pitches and how they approach it. When Tendulkar and Dravid and those boys retire in a couple of years, where is Indian cricket going to be.
"Are the youngsters coming through? They have to find ways, come here and work hard and do well on green wickets," he said at the post-match press conference after first day's play.
- For Rediff Realtime News on the Perth Test, click here
'I don't know whether it's going to be 4-0 or 3-0...'
He said the third Test is all but over for India, after they were bowled out for 161 and Australia replied with 149 for no loss by the end of the first day.
"They are bowled over already. We try to bowl on fifth-sixth stump and they don't like the leaving ball; they like hitting as many balls as possible. So, they are fishing and nicking it and that's what we have been doing," said Warner, who registered his hundred off 69 balls and was unbeaten on 104."I don't know whether it's going to be 4-0 or 3-0; for the moment we want to get this Test out of the way," he said.
'It's not easy for us as well to do well in WACA'
There was a verbal exchange between Warner and Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma towards the end of the day.
Asked about it, he said, "Virat and Ishant said that once I come to India my averages are going to fall and it would be a different story. But I said it's probably going to be 10 extra, for wickets here are livelier, while in India it's flat.
"It's not easy for us as well to do well in WACA. We get one game in a year or two, we don't know the bounce. I was telling that I have batted twice here and not got many runs."
Warner got off to a flying start and hit all Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground.
"If the ball is in my zone, I go for it. If my head is still and balance right, I am in a good position to score runs. In WACA, if you are aggressive, you can also get value for your shots. I backed my instincts," he said.
'Umesh was hard to face in the nets during IPL'
Warner failed in the first two Tests against India at Melbourne and Sydney and he said it was because some doubts had crept into his mind over the state of his batting.
"At the SCG, 600 runs were scored and I missed out. It racked me in the mind. What did I do wrong? I got a good ball from Zaheer [Khan] in Sydney and it does put some doubts in your mind, where your next runs are going to come.
"I had the option of taking nets but I stayed at home and cleared my mind. Only just before (the Test), I last had hit for two hours," he said.
Asked about his state of mind after he was hit on his head by Umesh Yadav when on 80, Warner replied,
"The physio came and asked if I had a blurred vision. I wanted to carry on and told myself I needed to keep watching it.
"I have faced Umesh at nets in IPL while playing for Delhi Daredevils. He is very hard to face at nets for he never gives me balls in my zone. He keeps bowling bouncers.
"Indeed, I feel bowlers are at least 10km quicker at nets. You feel restricted at nets but it's different in games, there is breeze and open spaces and you don't feel restricted."
'Zaheer is a threat to left-handers'
Warner, who also hit a century against New Zealand at Hobart in December, said Friday's ton was better.
"I would have said Hobart had we won the Test. But I came to WACA with doubts, I hadn't scored in a few innings. But I turned it around here.
"It will be great if we could make 500 and take the series," he said.
"We have to get through the opening session. Zaheer is a threat to left-handers, especially with balls going away from us. You look to get through him and get release against other guys. Wicket here on day two and three actually quickens up and there is a bit more bounce," he added.