Just when it seemed like Australia had surged back into the series against India, their chances of an upset victory in Delhi were dashed amid a myriad of botched sweep shots.
Taking an aggressive mentality into Day 3 after a successful counterattack in the evening session of Day 2 led by Travis Head, Australian after Australian fell as Ravichandran Ashwin (3/59) and Ravindra Jadeja (7/42) gleefully cleaned up the middle and lower orders, the visitors collapsing from 1/61 overnight to 113 all out in just 19 overs.
The collapse left India needing just 115 runs for a 2-0 series lead and they did it with six wickets in hand.
Only Head, who edged a pearler behind from Ashwin, fell to a purely defensive shot, with Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins and Matt Kuhnemann paying the price for ill-fated attempts to sweep – Cummins’ ungainly slog across the line the worst of the bunch.
Watching it all unfold on commentary duty was former Australian great Matthew Hayden, who famously swept his way to a whopping 303 runs in three Tests in India in 2001; the legendary opener couldn’t have been more scathing of what he’d witnessed.
“Another sweep shot – it is not bouncing, and it is not turning. That’s disappointing,” Hayden said on Fox Cricket following Cummins’ dismissal.
“I know you’ve got to have a method, but there’s a time and a place.
“You have to trust your defence. Every player that plays well here in the subcontinent, including Indian cricketers, they all do that really well.
“When you hack across the line – you’ve got to give yourself some chance! Just see the ball out of the hand.
“He’s [Cummins] gone in there with an absolute premeditated plan to sweep, ball one, instead of just understanding that your defence should be there.”
Hayden went on to apply the blowtorch to the rest of the Australian batting order, blasting their over-aggressive approach and describing the collapse as a ‘disaster’ unbefitting of quality players.
“These are world-class players, and they’ve got everything to win in this series, and everything to lose,” he said.
“There’s that balance, but the reality is they did it so well last evening in those few overs. Strong scoring rate, good defence, proactive batting. But what we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia.
“It’s a disaster because they’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play.”
Another Australian legend in Allan Border went even harder.
“I’m disappointed, I’m shell-shocked, angry, about the way we went about our work today,” he said.
“It was panicky, frenetic batting. No one got in there and tried to stem the flow with some good, defensive cricket. They were all just getting out playing sweep shots, reverse-sweeps, playing shots to just about every ball.
“You just can’t get away with that on that sort of track. You’ve got to have a method where you’re playing within your limitations… you’re not playing on a flat belter where you can expand your game. You’re playing on a really difficult surface, you’ve got to work out where your scoring options are and batting some time at the crease.”
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar agreed, expressing his surprise in the change of style from Smith and Labuschagne in particular, given their enormous success in recent times.
Gavaskar was particularly shocked by Smith’s ungainly sweep, comparing it unfavourably to his masterful century on a far more challenging wicket in Pune in 2017.
“There’s one thing being attacking, but you get the impression this morning it’s been a bit frenetic,” Gavaskar said.
“This [Smith] is a guy who got 100 in Pune in that Test match where India got 105 and 107 in two innings. You can imagine the surface there, but Steve Smith got a hundred playing like Steve Smith.
“I think they’ve just gone out of their natural batting approach a bit too much, especially people who have the ability.
“I can understand guys who struggle to get in there, people like Usman Khawaja had to find a way to survive, get runs. Labuschagne and Steve Smith, normal cricket, we saw in the first Test match how they got runs in the first innings.
“They’ll have to rethink that. People with exceptional ability don’t need to do things out of the box.”
“The difference between positive and reckless is the result that you end up with. You have to use the word ‘reckless’, especially a couple of the dismissals. Soft,” added current Indian player and commentator Dinesh Karthik.
Warner comeback unclear
David Warner’s Test future is under a cloud after he was subbed out of the second Test under the concussion protocols.
He also has a small fracture in his elbow after getting scans following a separate knock from Mohammed Siraj.
Australia captain Pat Cummins said Warner was “sore and sorry” but whether he is available for selection on March 1 in Indore remains to be seen.
“(Warner) came to the ground today for a fair while which is good, but we’ll kind of assess him over the next little bit,” Cummins said.
Matt Kuhnemann of Australia is bowled by Ravindra Jadeja of India. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Travis Head top-scored as a makeshift opener in the second innings. “He was extremely confident coming into this game and that’s the Trav I love,” Cummins said.
“I’m really happy to see him out there competing the way he is at the moment, I thought he was absolutely exceptional. I think having Trav in the side in cricket all around the world in the Australian cricket team especially over the last 12 months or so, it’s been bloody exciting to be a part of.”
Nathan Lyon wants to see Warner return to the top of the order.
“Obviously he’s injured, concussed and a fracture in the arm and your spirits, dare say, go down a little bit,” Lyon said after play on Saturday. “But Davey is Davey, we love having him around the team.
“Talking to the medical staff, it’s one of those ones where you could potentially play if you rest it over the next few days and we’ve got a decent break after this Test match.
“If he’s recovered well, I wouldn’t be surprised if you see him out there again.”
nics
Roar Rookie
I agree with you there - not all wins and losses are equal. Losing two Test matches to India in India is not exactly the same as losing two Test series to India in Australia under a 'successful coach'. Likewise winning one Test series in Pakistan is not the same as the 'successful coach' losing away Test series in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and managing a drawn series in England.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Yeah agreed, was the number 1 fast bowler and didn’t have to worry about other stuff. CA have messed with a prized asset!
Lawrence
Roar Rookie
In a way it’s not his fault - should never have been made captain
Insight Edge
Roar Rookie
No warm up games, bad selection, spinning pitches.............throw in the umpires too. Same old story and excuses. How many times does David Warner need to play in India to get familiar? Ten years not enough? Happy to take IPL millions! Simple fact is Aussies like many other teams including SA have "siege" mantality when playing in India. Same Australia beat Pakistan 3 months ago and they didn't have any practice games! India are just too good at the moment both home and away as they showed in Australia ouple of years ago. Only hope for Australia/SA/England is that most of the Indians are 34/35 so won't be around for long. They will not find players of similar caliber for a generation.
Baggygreen2.1
Roar Rookie
there's a clear need for much more elite honesty right now!
GP
Guest
Yeah, I'm sure when he flies home to Australia in business class, drives that high performance European sports car back to his multi-million dollar Bronte house with sweeping sea views, he'll be really cut by your comment...
GP
Guest
We also need to stop preparing test pitches at home whose sole purpose is to last 5 days. A bit of realism from the selectors would be nice as well. Bashing runs against 3rd string West Indian pace attacks is not a marker of good form. Flogging Roston Chase or Maharaj into the stands is a not a marker of "being able to play spin". Australia's prep for India was heavily compromised from 1. Dull Australian pitches 2. Inept opposition this summer (that's not CA's fault) 3. No tour games (CA's fault) 4. A refusal to pension off Warner.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Said Geoff, And now the series is lost and the next two matches have lost all their meaning and attraction. Maybe Geoff. There's the possibility that if Oz get thrashed in T3 & T4 then, aside from some players, the positions of coach, and especially captain, would be extremely vulnerable. On the bright side... Well, there's not much. The only thing I can think of is that Oz can't possibly bat any stupider.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
The so called successful coach has openly said he has no issue with Pat Cummins If you want to keep working in Oz cricket then you don't publicly bad-mouth people. *Especially* NSW Golden Boys. nor did the players have anything to do with the coach quitting early bolox. https://tinyurl.com/5c4x8szu
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Intense is essential. Intense never means horrid, nasty or angry.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
I'd play Neser over both and consider Hardie as well.
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Roar Rookie
Travis Head was scoring quickly without resorting to risky sweep shots late on day two - lots of drives and straight bat shots Whoever instructed the Aussies to sweep needs to be sacked - even Kuhnemann was reverse sweeping at no. 11 for God's sake. Talk about giving your wickets away. Absolutely mindless. Alex Carey is absolutely obsessed with reverse sweeping. All the Indians needed to do was bowl outside his leg stump turning towards the stumps and he was cooked. And that first ball shot by Cummins was simply appalling. Head and Handscomb were beaten by good balls but the others simply got themselves out. It was like lemmings following each other over a cliff. And what is most disappointing is we were in such a strong position to win the game at the end of day 2 and simply gave away the advantage. Soft, mindless and pathetic. Its times like this that I wish JL was still the coach and gave them the stare of death as they walked off the ground and assembled in the dressing room. One of the worst examples of self inflicted capitulation that I can recall. And now the series is lost and the next two matches have lost all their meaning and attraction. Australian supporters deserved better.
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
The so called successful coach has openly said he has no issue with Pat Cummins and nor did the players have anything to do with the coach quitting early and not fulfilling his contract.
Rocky's Rules
Roar Rookie
An expected result for me. Australia have always been useless against good spin. Warner is top of list poor against good spin and swing bowling. He never should be selected for tours of India, or England, but Aussie selectors never learn. The rest of the batsman continue to look like they’re playing T20 games, not Test matches. They’re as unchangeable as the selectors ????
Jb
Guest
Almighty sook yourself you big hero
jb
Guest
Sorry forgot you know everything about cricket mate
Choppy Zezers
Roar Rookie
Maybe not Tsitipas. Maybe more Greg Rudseski. Australia v India in India is like an injured Bernard Tomic playing left-handed against every top ten clay player in the world at Roland Garros
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
Ponting Coach Not sure about this. Unless he's mellowed since his playing days, I'd opine that he's a tad too intense, not a very good as a communicator and excessively theory-driven. Remember all those lengthy chats to his bowlers? Brilliant batsman & fielder, but coach? Not convinced.
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
I think it’s because he’s taken a stance on the environment that some seem to find threatening. He has a "stance on the environment (SOTE)?". Well there you go. I didn't know that. Anyhoo. how does whatever his SOTE is make him "threatening"? I have nfi. You should consider that some people just don't rate him as a captain based on such boring things as field placements, bowling changes and selections. And then there's his role in the knifing of a successful coach...
Naughty's Headband
Roar Rookie
Everyone is piling on the Australians, and fair enough. They should be ashamed of themselves, Cummins in particular. He bowled 13 overs for the match and played the most stupid shot he possibly could on his first ball. Why was he even there? We can't beat them with 11 men let alone 10 men.