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Lillee plotted Australia's downfall in Perth

January 21, 2008 11:39 IST

Ricky Ponting and his men probably have a fellow Australian, Dennis Lillee, to blame for their stunning defeat against India in the third Test at Perth.

As revealed by India's bowling coach Venkatesh Prasad, Lillee agreed to provide crucial information about the wind at the WACA ground, which helped the Indian seamers come up with an extraordinary display of swing bowling to mow down the Australian batting line-up.

"He told me about the winds and how to use them," Prasad was quoted as saying in the Herald Sun.

"I worked under Dennis [at the MRF pace foundation in Chennai] and he is a very, very good friend of mine," he said.

India's seemingly innocuous attack made the most of the Fremantle Doctor wind that blew across WACA and stole the thunder from Australia's much-vaunted all-pace attack.

Prasad, however, asserted that Lillee only provided the inputs and it was his wards who actually put it to good use.

"Dennis told me about the winds but our pace bowlers had to go out there and do the job" he said.

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