Harbhajan adds more fuel to Aussie fire

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has declined to praise first Test player of the match Stephen O'Keefe, saying he will wait until he plays on a "good Test match wicket" before sharing his views on the Australian.

O'Keefe claimed match figures of 12-70 – the best by a foreign spinner in the subcontinent – in Australia's 333-run victory that snapped India's 19-match unbeaten streak.

But Harbhajan says the pitch, where 40 wickets fell inside three days, played a significant part in O'Keefe's haul and Australia's upset victory.

"I will have to see (O'Keefe) bowl on a good Test match wicket," Harbhajan told the Indian Express.  "Not this one. Till then, I will reserve my comments.

"To be honest, that wasn't a pitch. Test cricket should last five days.

Quick Single: SOK spins into history with 12

"You cannot play on such wickets where anyone runs in to bowl and takes wickets.

"I have played in over 100 Tests, and I know how hard I had to work to earn every single wicket.

"When you prepare such a wicket, you are making conditions favourable for the opposition as well. That's what happened in Pune.

"When I say a good Test wicket, I mean a strip where the ball does not shoot up from the first day itself."

In the lead up to the first Test Harbhajan predicted a 4-0 result to the hosts and that Steve Smith's men were the "weakest Australian side to tour India".

The 103-Test veteran has been left to eat his words, saying he's been "trolled" on social media following the emphatic win to the visitors.

He congratulated Steve Smith and the Australians after the match on Twitter, but reiterated the pitch was not up to Test standard and hoped the remaining wickets in Bangalore, Ranchi and Dharamshala were "good tracks".

While the surface of the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, which was hosting its first Test match, was heavily criticised by former players – notably former Australia spinner Shane Warne – India captain Virat Kohli said it was his side's batsmen, not the pitch, that was to blame for the loss.

"I don't think it (the Pune pitch) was any different from the turners that we played on in the past. We just didn't play good cricket," Kohli said on Saturday.

"They exploited it better than us. They put us under pressure throughout and deserved to win this game ... there are no excuses.

"Us batsman put us in that position. The batting was not up to standard and certainly how we shouldn't bat from here on.

"I would say it was sustained pressure from the Australian bowlers (and) the batsmen need to pull their socks up."

It's unlikely the series will see another raging turner like the one seen in Pune after Smith said the pitch narrowed the gap between the two teams.

"I think it was certainly a wicket would more likely suit the Indian players," said Smith.

"I think it evened up the contest a lot more.

"We saw the way our spinners bowled on that, they were able to generate good spin and good natural variation out of the wicket.

"It was up to them (the MCA Stadium curators) to prepare a wicket they prepared a wicket that played in to our hands.

"It will be interesting to see what they come up with come Bangalore."

Test Squads

India (for first two Tests): Virat Kohli (c), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandaran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund, Hardik Pandya.

Australia: Steve Smith (c), David Warner (vc), Ashton Agar, Jackson Bird, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Stephen O'Keefe, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade

Australia's schedule in India

Feb 17-19, Tour match v India A, Mumbai

Feb 23-27, First Test: Australia won by 333 runs, Pune

Mar 4-8, Second Test, Bengaluru

Mar 16-20, Third Test, Ranchi

Mar 25-29, Fourth Test, Dharamsala