Dubai [UAE], December 8 (ANI): Following India’s loss to Australia in the second Test at Adelaide Oval, former Indian cricketer Atul Wassan said that the visitors look complacent and are missing the “intensity and single-mindedness” which makes them a fine Test team.
Australia continued its domination in pink-ball Test cricket, sending India to the lows of a 10 wicket loss at Adelaide days after a massive 295 run triumph at Perth’s Optus Stadium to level the series 1-1. Travis Head continued being a headache for India with a brilliant century and Mitchell Starc solidified his status as the greatest pink-ball Test bowler with a six-wicket haul that started India’s endless downfall in the match.
Speaking to ANI, Wassan said that he expected a huge fightback from Australia and warned against writing off Australia, who he said is a “different kind of animal”.
“I had said in the first match, that a miracle has happened. But Bumrah’s brilliance made us win. But every time Bumrah cannot make you win. When you do not make runs, it is very difficult. Australia is also playing at home and is such a great team. I had full hopes of such a comeback from Australia. Because Australia is a different kind of animal. You can never write it off. It is not like you caught it. And the way we lost 3-0 to New Zealand, the problem was that there was something wrong in the team. And I feel that the team is a little complacent. It felt like, ‘okay, we have become so great. We are playing as we wish’. But the intensity, the single-mindedness that everybody gets together behind a single thing, was missing,” said the former player.
Wassan also said that the organisation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction during December 24-25, when the Perth Test was going on and the auction’s aftermath, possibly could have distracted the players.
“And in this series, if you take the first lead and set a tempo, if you let this test match go, then it (the series) will slip out of your hands. This sand, if you hold it with your fist, it slips out of your hands like this in Australia. You just do not know. Nothing remains in your hand. So be careful. Because there is a long test series left,” warned Wassan.
On decision to play Harshit Rana, who conceded 86 runs without any wickets in 16 overs during the first innings and failed after the highs of debut at Perth, where he took four wickets in total, Wassan said that the bowler has potential but everyone has got to be patient with him as he could have bad days like this. He also warned against people getting too caught up in the hype of emerging fast bowlers every now and then.
“Look, the hindsight is a perfect vision. You get to know everything later. But in the first test match, Harshit Rana played well. He took the wickets, won you the match and you are like this is amazing, we have found another Kapil Dev. Suddenly people become over the top in India. He is a good bowler. I think he has the potential. But do not build him up suddenly so that he gets so much pressure. He will have bad days,” he said.
“He is not a ready product now. He will get better slowly. But if you do not have patience, you would not let him get better. When a new bowler comes, you get so excited. No matter who comes after two matches, you just say, this is amazing. After that, no one knows where he went. Prasidh Krishna is such a great bowler. No one is asking about him. Now you are talking about Akash Deep. You got Harshit Rana to play. Khaleel came. I think there have been 10-15 such bowlers. Umesh Yadav went there (to Australia). Then Ishant Sharma. Now, you are a little disappointed with Siraj, that he is an erratic bowler. But I think you should have a little patience,” he added.
Wassan also said that the team has shown fine maturity in the tour so far, but them getting united for a single cause is what they are missing. He also said that in hindsight, playing Ravichandran Ashwin after featuring Washington Sundar in the first Test was wrong.
“The team you have set up, I think the Indian team showed good maturity. When they played Ashwin. Although in hindsight, it was not right to play Ashwin. Because in the first match, you played Washington Sundar. But then, he (Washington) worked. We need to introspect. In this test series, I am not saying change the team. Your players are good. But them getting united behind a single cause, that was missing,” he said.
Atul disagreed that India should play more pink-ball matches to gain experience, having won three and lost two of their five pink-ball Tests.
“I think one match or a two will happen. Otherwise, pink ball test matches should become regular. Now they are not happening. So our experience is less. Theirs is more. So it suits them. We won the toss and batted first. And when we went from 69 for 1 to 87 to 5, you lost the the match there. Pink ball is not at fault. You know that it happens. You know that you have practiced,” he signed off.
Coming to the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. However, they had to face the wrath of a moving, erratic pink-ball and its mastermind, Mitchell Starc (6/48). Except for a 69-run stand for the second wicket between KL Rahul (37 in 64 balls with six fours) and Shubman Gill (31 in 51 balls, with five fours) and a fighting 42 in 54 balls (three fours and three sixes) from Nitish Kumar Reddy, there was not much highlights from India who were skittled out for 180 runs. Skipper Cummins and Scott Boland also took two wickets.
In the first innings, a 67-run partnership between Nathan McSweeney (39 in 109 balls, with six fours) and Marnus Labuschagne (64 in 126 balls, with nine fours) for second wicket set the platform for Travis Head to impose his domination over Indian bowlers yet again with a counter-attacking 140 in 141 balls, with 17 fours and four sixes, just when Aussies lost some regular wickets. His century took Australia to 337 runs and gave them a 157-run lead.
Jasprit Bumrah (4/61) and Mohammed Siraj (4/98) were top bowlers for India. Ravichandran and Nitish got a wicket each.
In their second innings, India appeared even more toothless as the star-studded top-order and middle-order returned back to pavillion despite starts from Jaiswal (24 in 31 balls, with four boundaries), Gill (28 in 30 balls, with three fours) while KL Rahul (7) and Virat Kohli (11 in 21 balls with a four) failed to score well. India ended day two at 128/5.
On the third day, Pant also lost his wicket for 28 in 31 balls, with five fours. From there on, it was not looking back for Aussies, who skittled out India for 175 runs in 36.5 overs. India lead by just 18 runs, setting Aussies 19 runs to win.
Skipper Cummins (5/67) took a majestic five-wicket haul, his eighth as a captain. Boland took 3/51 while Starc took 2/60.
Set a target of 19 runs, Khawaja (10*) and McSweeney (9*) chased it down without breaking a sweat in 3.2 overs. (ANI)
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