Former Australia captain Mark Taylor has indicated that India is producing slow, low turners which suits their spinners Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Axar Patel as the visitors trail the four-Test series 0-2 after big defeats in Nagpur and Delhi matches of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
The Australian team has been found incompetent to counter the Indian spinners on tracks that have helped them. In Nagpur Test, Australia was bowled out for 177 and 91 in two innings with Marnus Labuschagne top scoring with 49 runs across two innings. Ravindra Jadeja picked a fifer on his international comeback and picked the Player of the Match award as India won by an innings and 132 runs.
In Delhi Test, the Australians went for the sweep shot to counter the Indian spinners but were outfoxed by Ravichandran Ashwin who picked a fifer, but Jadeja picked his career-best 7/42 and routed the Pat Cummins-led side which had scored 263 runs in 1st innings, but still lost by 6 wickets, with Jadeja getting his second Player of the Match award.
Taylor said though the Indians have prepared wickets that suited their bowlers, but Australian batters needed to have the technique for the same as well.
“Yes, conditions in Australia are different. Yes, the Australian side goes there more often these days with the IPL. But the pitches there are unique. There is not a doubt about that. They are putting out slow low turners, which suit their type of play. And we are not used to playing on those types of pitches. We went over there with a mentality to be positive to take it on, be aggressive which is not a bad mentality to have. But you’ve got to have a technique for that. The execution was poor in the second Test,” said Taylor while speaking with Wide World of Sports.
It’s Not Unique What Has Happened To The Australian Team, It’s Happened In The Past Too: Mark Taylor On His Experience Of Playing In India
Mark Taylor toured India twice in 1996 for a one-off Test that started the Broder-Gavaskar Trophy and then in 1998 when Australia was routed 2-1 by Mohammed Azharuddin’s Indian team with the famous Sachin Tendulkar-Shane Warne rivalry snatching the headlines.
He said that Australian players struggling in India are not something new, but happened in past as well.
“I did not play a lot of Test matches in India. In 1998, we got beaten in the first test at Chennai in a pretty good game. Second Test, we played at Eden Gardens and got absolutely hammered. It’s not unique what has happened to the Australian team, it’s happened in the past too. We got beaten by an innings and 220 runs in Eden Gardens. It’s not too much fun. That’s what happened this time. All the sudden, you find the game moves ahead very quickly. As we saw with Australia on Day three in the last test match. All of a sudden, things start going in the wrong direction, it’s hard to stop the momentum. That’s happened with us in Eden Gardens. The good news for us was that we did turn it around in the final test in Bengaluru. We won on a much better even pitch. You can turn it around but it’s not easy when the pitches are as they are now,” said Taylor.
The third Test between India and Australia will be played in Indore from March 1.