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Opinion
I like Pat Cummins’ pre-game declaration that the Aussies are going to be more aggressive in the second Test because they’ve got to change things up if they’re any chance of getting the momentum back from India.
Momentum is so important in a long series like this four-match contest and at the moment it’s all one way after what we saw when India took the Aussies to the cleaners last week in Nagpur.
Cummins, David Warner and Nathan Lyon are the three guys who I’d like to see really bounce back from the first Test by taking the fight to India.
If you’re gonna be aggressive about your game you’ve got to always be dictating with what your game is built around, what the pitch conditions are doing and what the actual match situation is – whether it’s the bowlers you’re facing as a batter or what you’re doing with the ball.
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It’s a very general term but I like that they are trying to shift momentum and asking yourself how you’re going to do that as a team but also with individual plans.
(Photo by Paul Kane – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
If they are lucky enough to win the toss and bat first again, Warner has to be aggressive. Particularly in that second innings in Nagpur he was watching every ball like a hawk when he was facing the spinners and he looked like a sitting duck.
That’s not how he plays his best – we saw when he smashed that double ton at the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne that’s his best way of building an innings.
He’s got to start with that mentality and go on with the job.
With Warner and Usman Khawaja, within that first hour of batting I want to be able to see that they’ve made changes and improved their tactics.
In India, the problem is if you get into a frame of mind that’s too negative, eventually you’re going to get a ball that pops up and hits you on the glove or it goes straight on or skids through your defences.
And the bowlers need to react too. Todd Murphy was brilliant with seven-for on debut but our established champions in Cummins and Lyon have to bounce back.
David Warner. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Lyon has said he’s been watching a lot of footage of Ravichandran Ashwin so I’ll be interested to see what subtle changes he’s made to his repertoire.
With Cummins, maybe it was a case of he felt like the team under-achieved with the bat and he had to roll India straight away late on day one but I’ve never seen him hit around like that first spell.
I think we’ll know from his first spell in the second Test at Delhi that the Cummins we know is back, that he’s not leaking runs and he’s constantly threatening the front pad and the wickets.
I reckon we’ll see an improved performance from Patty as well – that’s crucial for Australia’s chances.
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Like I’ve said before and after the first Test, whether we bat first or second, the Aussies can’t underachieve or they’ll be no chance.
Our two best batters, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, probably don’t need to change too much but the other guys need to examine their plans and work out what’s best for them.
India are sitting pretty. A couple of their big guns in Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli missed out in the first Test and that won’t happen all the time.
And they’ve beautifully balanced their attack with three spinners and the two quicks.
I like that the Aussies are giving it a red-hot go and whoever they end up picking in the final XI will have that aggressive mindset drummed into them. Hopefully it works.