Former Australia captain Greg Chappell has come down hard of Pat Cummins & Co. following their disastrous display in the first two Tests of the ongoing four-match series against India.
Australia arrived in India as the best Test side in the world but their performance so far has been nothing less than a disaster. India thoroughly outplayed them in both the Tests and won both the games inside three days. The hosts won the series-opener by an innings and 132 runs before winning the second Test by 6 wickets.
Barring few moments in the second Test, nothing much has gone Australia’s way so far. In 4 innings, they have managed to score more than 200 runs just once. The defeats in the first two Tests have already dashed their hopes of winning a Test series in India for the first time since 2004/05 season.
Greg Chappell slams Australia:
Following Australia’s horror displays in the first two Tests, Greg Chappell has stated that the visitors ‘punched themselves in the mouth’ even before the series began.
He criticised Australia for not backing their strength which is fast-bowling as they pinned their hopes on the spinners. In the second Test in Delhi, Australia had gone in with three front line spinners and just one pacer.
“It was Mike Tyson who said in the lead-up to a fight with Evander Holyfield: Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth,” Greg Chappell wrote in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald.
“My concern after watching the first two Tests is that the Australian team punched themselves in the mouth long before the first ball was even bowled. It is one thing to plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility.
“Australia needed to play to their strengths to have a chance of winning this series. Spin bowling is not our strength. Picking spinners for the sake of it is not the way to success in India.
“We had to pick our best bowlers and trust them to do the job and back that with sensible batting, based on sound principles,” he added.
Meanwhile, India have taken an unassailable lead in the series and will be looking to seal the series by winning the third Test. The third game is scheduled to begin from March 1 at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.
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