Steyn helped me get used to sub-continent pitches: Kyle Abbott

New Delhi, Dec 5. Having bowled well in the fourth Test against India at the Ferozeshah Kotla here, South African pacer Kyle Abbott credited fellow pacer Dale Steyn for helping him adjust to conditions in the sub-continent.

Abbott and team-mate Morne Morkel have been impressive in the final Test of the four-match series, asking difficult questions of the batsmen with their pace despite bowling on a relatively spin-friendly track. The 28-year-old claimed 5/40 in 24.5 overs during India's first innings and put his performance down to tips provided by the vastly experienced Steyn.

"I have discussed a lot about bowling in the sub-continent with Dale Steyn. He would always feel that he is in the game here because generally the pitches are not a hundred percent flat. Yes, they are a bit slow, but they offer inconsistent bounce and a bit of reverse swing," Abbott said.

"So he would tell me that he always felt he had a chance and I took that on board. It is a mindset in that if you tell yourself that it is going to be flat and hard for the seamers then it is going to be like that."

"But if you make the batsmen play 90-95 percent of the balls, and if one keeps up and one stays low or it swings a bit, you are going to give yourself a lot of opportunity," he added.

"Steyn has had success in the sub-continent over the years and that is something I took on board." Abbott did not manage to bag a wicket in India's second innings on Saturday despite coming close on several occasions, but Morkel managed three scalps. The right-armer asserted he is happy with the performance he and Morkel produced.

"Incredibly proud to have bowled well today. Tough conditions here in India. This is a series where the spinners have dominated so it was nice to get a couple of wickets with the seamers."

"Morne probably took his lessons from the first innings and bowled a slightly full length. I thought the yorker was probably was probably an out of the boxing thinking and something that you do in these situations when the pitches are not helping you much."

"There is nothing off the deck. You got to make the ball do a bit in the air. Sometimes we need to take the pitch totally out of the play, which we did," he added. "Going forward, I am going to take a lot of confidence out of this. There were probably a few questions on my performance in South Africa. But I have shown that in a situation where the ball is reversing, I have the ability to do well."

"I am going to take that knowledge in the future and any sort of deck I get, I will give my best." The pacer also opined that Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane batted defensively during their 133-run partnership which made things even more difficult for the Proteas. India were 190/4 at stumps on day three with an overall lead of 403 runs on Saturday.

"They batted at a strike rate of around 40. So when the batsmen are not taking any risks and there nothing off the deck, it becomes a bit difficult to take wickets. Even when we tried to tempt them into a shot, they either left it, or tried to defend. So it became a bit frustrating," he stated. "But its Test cricket, at the end of the day and we are testing our skills and our patience."

Agency