Steve Waugh praises Nilesh Kulkarni

Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, FEB. 23. Mumbai's left hand spinner Nilesh Kulkarni was not at the Cooch Behar Room, Cricket Club of India (CC), to hear Australia's captain Steve Waugh sing paeans of praise on him.

``He took seven wickets the last time he played against us in 1998. He is a consistent bowler. I am sure he can handle Test match cricket. I am not picking their side, but he is a good bowler,'' said Steve Waugh, who made a fighting undefeated century at the Brabourne Stadium on Friday.

The Australians, it appears, regard Kulkarni as a top class spinner. ``He is hard to get away,'' said Waugh. On his last visit to India, Ricky Ponting told the people whom he met in the city that Kulkarni stopped their on drives in 1998.'' Kulkarni has taken eleven wickets in three innings against Australia and is looking forward to increase it on Saturday.

The Australian captain also acknowledged the way Mumbai has played the match for 12 hours. ``I thought we would get six overs yesterday. There was no point in batting this morning. Any way they played aggressive cricket. We were told that the ball does a lot in the first two hours in the morning in Mumbai.''

Steve Waugh said the early part of his century was scratchy. ``Justin Langer told me how difficult it was to score the first 30 runs in Nagpur before he made a century. You are a little more comfortable after the difficult part. I think I scored the last 60 runs in much quicker time. I did not expect to get a hundred, but it's a nice feeling as it came along.''

About the fitness of Mark, he said, ``It's 50-50. You cannot hide some one in a Test match. It's difficult more so with Mark because, he stands in a catching position. I think we have to go by his word before we pick the team for the Test match.''

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