sachin’s wicket was a nice surprise, says Gillespie

Tendulkar was a victim of a controversial decision as TV replays showed the ball was pitched outside the off and would have gone over the stumps.

Tendulkar looked stunned as Bucknor slowly raised his finger to rule him out for a three-ball duck.

Gillespie, the pick among the bowlers snaring three wickets for 45 runs, gave credit to the Indian batsmen for the way they batted on the fourth day today.

‘‘We put the balls in the right areas and tried our best but let us give credit to the Indians who batted very well. They let a lot of balls go away and then put away the bad balls.’’

‘‘We stuck to our task but as I said, credit to Indians for the way they batted.’’

Gillespie also had special praise for Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman.

‘‘Ganguly batted very well. His footwork was very good and he played an attacking knock. As for Laxman, there were a couple of moments when I thought he half-nicked it but he was very positive.

‘‘Even someone like Aakash Chopra showed he values his wicket even if he did not score a run for a while.’’