Advice from Bedi, Venkat
helped: Hayden

Australian opener Matthew Hayden, who swept India's spinners into submission on the first day of the third Test on Sunday, said he owes his success to lessons learnt on a previous tour.

Hayden, who hit his Test highest of 147 not out, to put Australia in early command of the deciding match, said advice from former India spinners Bishen Bedi and Srinivas Venkatraghavan in Madras three years ago had prepared him.

"I developed the sweep, which is a very productive shot and which got me a lot of runs, under Bobby Simpson [former Australian coach]," Hayden told reporters.

He said he came to India on an Australian Cricket Academy organised tour in 1998.

"I had also had this stint in 1998 when we talked with Bedi and Venkat on how to play spin, so the preparation helped a lot."

Hayden attacked India's three slow bowlers, including off-spinner Harbhajan Singh, who had led his side's comeback victory in the second Test in Calcutta to level the three-Test series 1-1.

Hayden has been the most successful Australian batsman in the series, having made 458 runs so far after scoring only one century in 13 matches coming into the series.

He hit 119 in the first innings in the Bombay first Test - which Australia won by 10 wickets - by pulling and sweeping the spinners in a big stand with fellow left-hander Adam Gilchrist.

The Queenslander then scored 97 and 67 in the Calcutta Test before his 147 not out here.

Hayden said his attack on Singh was pre-determined and he was happy with the way his innings had worked so far.

He hardly missed a sweep shot, picking some of them from well outside the off-stump to subdue the spinners.

"I stuck to my game plan and it worked well. It is a special day for all of us and we will be looking to press the advantage from here and bat as long as we can," he said.

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Mail Cricket Editor