'There are no tougher conditions for pacers'

James Pattinson has been Australia’s best bowler by some distance in the first two Tests with eight wickets but the paceman said it was not easy bowling in Indian conditions.

Pattinson, who will sit out the third Test following a disciplinary action against him, felt the way the Indian batsmen have played has been the biggest difference between the two sides so far in the series which the hosts lead 2-0.

“I think one of the main things is the way Indian batsmen have played,” pointed out the Victorian on Tuesday. “They’ve kept it very simple at the start of their innings. From a bowling point of view, it’s been very hard to penetrate and getting a wicket early in an innings because they’ve looked pretty sharp straightaway. That’s the main thing as a bowler. If I see a batsman coming in and if he’s leaving well, he’s blocking very well, playing straight, then I know I’m in for a tough challenge here.

“That’s one thing they’ve done very well. I think they’ve done really well with the batting. They could be 10 off 70 balls in the first session -- like (Cheteshwar) Pujara and (Murali) Vijay did in Hyderabad. They scored 50-odd runs in the session but it held them in great shape going into the rest of the day in the second and third sessions,” he reasoned.

Indian bowlers too came in for special praise from the 22-year-old quick. “Their bowlers too have done well. I think mainly the spinners have bowled in good areas, attacked the stumps well and made it hard for us to score.”

Bowling in the sub-continent, Pattinson admitted, is a massive challenge. “I have been over here before with squads but haven’t actually played a game so it has been a massive challenge and something which is not only going to help me bowl in these conditions but all over the world. There are no tougher conditions than here for a fast bowler.

I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to bowl in the first two Test matches on wickets that are quite challenging to bowl on. Being young is going to hold me in great shape coming back here in the future,” the pace bowler said.