Last Updated: February 20, 2023, 13:30 IST
Australia lost 9 wickets in just 90 minutes on third day of the Delhi Test (AP Photo)
Despite a flying start, the Aussie batting line-up fell apart within 90 minutes of the third day’s morning session
Pat Cummins & Co losing back-to-back games to India in the Border Gavaskar Trophy has left the Australian cricket fraternity baffled. After the Nagpur drubbing, the Aussies were beaten by Rohit Sharma’s India by 6 wickets in Delhi. As another game in the Test series ended in three days, the hosts have gone 2-0 up and retained the trophy once again.
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Meanwhile, former Australia Allan Border has come down harsh on the Pat Cummins-led side after the crumbling in the second innings of the Delhi encounter. Despite a flying start, the Aussie batting line-up fell apart within 90 minutes of the third day’s morning session. They started the day with a 61-run lead but Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin together bowled them out for a paltry 113. India comfortably chased down the target of 115 and inched another step closer to the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, Border expressed his dismay, saying that Australia panicked and kept on playing the sweep shots.
“I’m angry about the way they went about it today. It was a panicky, frenetic sort of batting, nobody got in there to stem the flow with some good defensive cricket. They were all just getting out playing the sweep shot, reverse sweep to just about every ball,” Border said.
“You’re not playing on a flat belter where you can expand your game. When playing on a difficult surface, you’ve got to work out where your scoring options are and bat some time at the crease,” he added.
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden also took hot shots at Cummin-led Australia, terming their batting ‘complete disaster’.
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“I can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed here. These are world-class players, and they’ve got everything to win and everything to lose in this session.
“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. They’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play,” Hayden told Star Sports Network.
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