Pune: Australian left arm spinner Steve O’Keefe came up with career best figures (6/35) to put Australia in driver’s seat against India on the second day of the Test match here on Friday.
The 32-year-old, O’Keefe playing in just his fifth Test, came on as early as in second over of the innings, looked ordinary in morning session, lobbing full tosses and bowling all over the place. He started straightway after lunch and bowled two overs to stop again with overall figures of 9-1-30-0.
“I bowled an ordinary six overs, too full, too quick then. We debated in change room (during lunch) where I should start, Mitch (Starc) had created foot marks for Nathan (Lyon) it was good fortune for us. I was confident, changed angle and it worked out.
Amazing how things happen quickly on these sort of wickets. It was a good day for us, well-finished by the batters. I am not getting ahead of myself, we have to come tomorrow and work hard to knock them over. The feeling hasn’t really sunk in,” said O’Keefe.
The 32-year-old spinner knew it would be a career defining tour for him and also credited former India spinner Sridharan Sriram for good showing.
“Playing for Australia A in Chennai helped to know conditions. Sriram, our spin bowling coach, has been biggest influence, he understands the conditions and what batters are thinking.
