Australia skipper Pat Cummins has admitted that the Nagpur pitch was not unplayable after Team India inflicted a humiliating defeat on his team in the just-concluded first Test at the VCA Stadium.
The hosts thrashed Australia by an innings and 132 runs to take the lead in the three-match series. Australia’s defeat looked certain after they were bowled out for just 177 and India were off to a good start with the bat. However, not many had expected the world number one Test side to explode in the manner they did in Nagpur.
After being bowled out for 177, Australia had reduced India to 168 for 5 before everything went south for them. Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel scored fighting fifties to guide India to a big total of 400 on a tough pitch.
With a 223-run lead in front of them, Australia looked set for a defeat. They, however, were widely expected to put up a good challenge. However, the Pat Cummins-led side came up with a pathetic batting performance and were all out for just 91 inside a session to lose the first Test inside three days.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the wreaker-in-chief in the second innings, taking 5 for 37 while Ravindra Jadeja picked up 2 wickets to back up his 5-wicket haul in the first innings.
Pat Cummins reacts to heavy defeat:
Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, Pat Cummins took nothing away from Team India and lauded them for their display. He also stated that the pitch was not unplayable. The comment came after the Australian media accused the hosts of doctoring the pitches.
Cummins also had some words of praise for his India counterpart Rohit Sharma who scored one of his finest Test centuries to put India in the driver’s seat.
“The game moves pretty quickly here at times in India. They played very well. The spinners are always going to be hard work when it’s spinning. Rohit played very well. The wicket spun (in the first innings) but wasn’t unplayable. Should’ve scored 100 more runs. Starting here is tough but 3-4 of our guys got in. When you do get in, got to score big scores. Murphy was fantastic,” said Pat Cummins.