| Andy McKay became the second debutant fast bowler in four Tests to pick up Sachin Tendulkar as his first Test wicket, thereby disappointing a nation that had geared up to herald the little man’s 50th Test hundred. | |
| Tendulkar had fallen to Peter George in Bangalore last month, but not before he had piled up 214. On Monday at the VCA stadium, he had added just four to his overnight 57 when he edged McKay to wicket-keeper Gareth Hopkins. “Another couple of wickets would have been great, but to get a player like Sachin Tendulkar as my first wicket is fantastic,” said late bloomer McKay, 30. “The ball I got Sachin with, I was looking to bowl pretty quick and put a bit more effort into it. It paid off. “I actually apologised to the crowd at the end of the over for having got Sachin out,” he smiled. Enjoying the challenge of bowling to India’s star-studded line-up in their own conditions, McKay went on, “It's quite daunting. It's a fantastic batting line-up. I've been lucky that in the handful of one-day games I've played, I've come up against Sehwag and a couple of other big players. To come up against this line-up, while daunting, is also very exciting. I really enjoyed the opportunity today.” Making no effort to mask his admiration for Rahul Dravid, who constructed a beautiful 191, McKay said, “Our plan was to bowl quite straight to him, and he played those deliveries well. He waited for us to err off those straight lines, and capitalised on those opportunities. His wagon wheel shows he scored a lot of his runs through cover and mid-wicket. That's when we missed our lines. He batted very well and waited for those opportunities.”  | |
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