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Sit Down And Talk About The Methodology: Aussie Legend Lash Out At Pat Cummins And Co Following Disappointing Performance In Delhi Test
Australia's strategy to sweep their way against the spin bowler of India backfired on them really quickly. Their second inning was wrapped up on a score of 113 on the third day from a point where they were 61 runs
21 February 2023 • 8:21 AM
Australia (credit: Associated Press)
New Delhi: Australia’s strategy to sweep their way against the spin bowler of India backfired on them really quickly. Their second inning was wrapped up on a score of 113 on the third day from a point where they were 61 runs.
Rohit Sharma-led Team India have now gained an unbeatable lead of 2-0 in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. On the other hand, Aussies have been facing lots of lash-out following their dismal performance in both test matches.
During a conversation with Fox Cricket in which he was questioned about Australia’s batting strategy and the use of sweep shots during the Delhi Test, Allan Border stated that the team needed to shut out all of the outside noise and evaluate their strategy.
“They have got to turn off their radios and stop reading newspapers for the next couple of days, that’s for sure because they’re going to call peeps but yeah they’ve got to sit down and talk about the methodology of playing quality spin bowling. Obviously, they have had meetings about this and how to go about it. You have got to have a method and don’t think cross-bat is the right method, not initially in your innings,” he said.
The legendary batter went on to explain that, while Usman Khawaja was right to use sweep shots early in the innings to add variety to his game, the strategy wasn’t as effective later in the match when the conditions changed.
“Usman Khawaja played really well in the first innings on the back of a lot of good reverse sweeps but as the pitch got lower that became more dangerous shots so they had to reassess and that’s what Test match batting is all about. You might scratch yourself around for a first 15-20 runs but then you get yourself in and then all of a sudden the innings start to flow because you get used to the conditions,” he explained.
While Border acknowledged that he empathizes with the Australian batters, he also stated that he had no idea what the best strategy would have been against this formidable Indian spin attack.
“I do feel bad for the batters because you are learning on the job and cope with this sort of bowling. It’s a tough one and I don’t know what the answer is,” he said.