AUSTRALIA captain Michael Clarke praised his team’s impressive first Test win over India – and then told them he wants more.
Australia clinched a 122-run success after their pace bowlers again tore through a star-studded India batting line-up on day four at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. “Consistency is what I’ve spoken about in the past,” said Clarke. “There are periods throughout that game where we didn’t perform as well as we’d like, so we need to look to improve that, come Sydney.”
He added: “When you’re on top you need to make the most of that. I think we did that really well today with the ball, and we fought really hard with the bat yesterday and again this morning.
“It certainly is a time to enjoy this success, this first Test match, but once tonight’s gone it is about re-assessing, working out how we can improve and go out all guns blazing in Sydney and try to win another Test match.”
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni believes his side will respond in Sydney, but admitted his batsmen will need to improve if they are to level the four-match series.
“It’s a long series which gives you the chance to come back,” he said.
“We need to score more runs. Otherwise, it would be very difficult for us to win. We need to apply ourselves a lot more. And if we do that I have no doubt that we would come back strongly.”