Mohammed Shami believes the home conditions always offer enough help to the pacers despite the wicket being loaded in favour of the spinners.

Shami ended with a four-wicket haul to help India limit Australia to 263 on the opening day of the second Test. Spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up three wickets each.

“There is not a lot of difference you see with wickets in India. If you can get help with the new ball and can get the old ball to reverse... As a fast bowler, the main thing in Indian conditions is the area you bowl in and you have to maintain pace all along.

“The pitch here is not much different from Nagpur, though runs were coming for Australia (in the morning session). But I tried to bowl in the right areas,” Shami said during a media interaction.

The 32-year-old put the pacers’ success in India down to their toil in domestic cricket.

“We all have come from domestic cricket. All the fast bowlers have done well and they know how to exploit the home conditions. It won’t be right to say the Indian conditions are more suited to spinners or pacers.

“Even recently in domestic cricket, pacers have done well. Focus should be on line and length and maintaining pace. With that, you can succeed in all conditions.

“Even on Indian wickets, there is enough help. Kuch nahi toh reverse milega (if not anything else, you will get reverse swing),” he said with a hearty laugh.

“We have been told since the early days that Indian pitches don’t help the pacers. But the short ball is always a good weapon in India,” said Shami.

Written with inputs from PTI