Last Update: February 25, 2023, 17:58 IST
Greg Chappell (AFP file photo)
He has also questioned Australia’s plans for the ongoing tour of the country.
Quoting Mike Tyson, Australian great Greg Chappell criticized the team’s forgettable performance in the first two Tests against India, saying that the spectators “punched themselves in the mouth before the first ball was bowled”.
Australia have already conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after losing the first two Tests of the four-match series, both games ending within three days and drawing sharp reactions from the country’s former cricketers.
“It was Mike Tyson who said in the lead-up to the fight with Evander Holyfield: Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.
Chappell wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald, “My concern after watching the first two Tests is that the Australian team punched themselves in the face long before the first ball was bowled.”
He has also questioned Australia’s plans for the ongoing tour of the country.
He said, “It is one thing to make a plan, but to base that plan on a flawed premise is an exercise in futility.”
Having lost by an innings and 132 runs in Nagpur, Australia opted to go to Delhi with just one fast bowler in captain Pat Cummins. They dropped Scott Boland and introduced debutant left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnmann.
“Australia needed to play to their strengths to have a chance of winning this series. Spin bowling is not our strength. Picking spinners for this is not the way to success in India.
“We had to pick our best bowlers and trust them to do the job and back it up with sensible batting based on good principles.” He said it was a mistake to drop Boland for an extra spinner.
“Cummins bowling short himself and failing to use the short ball on a wicket with varying bounce was another mistake. To complete the trifecta, it seems no one saw fit to tell Cummins that he was under-bowling and should use the short ball.” His downfall – in the second innings of the Delhi Test .
“It may be sensible to add this to your repertoire in spinning conditions, but not if it is the only option. There are other shots that are less risky and likely to be more profitable, but because the sweep is difficult for most batsmen, Pre-meditation has to be done, other options always fall by the wayside.
“One of the first things you learn about batting in Indian conditions is that you have more time than you realise. The main target should be to survive the first few overs and rotate the strike. If you can live with it, batting doesn’t seem as daunting as Fermat’s Last Theorem.” India Australia won the Second Test in Delhi by six wickets, despite being ahead by a nose at one stage of the game. The visitors bowled out India for 139 for seven in their first innings but a 114-run partnership between Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel saved the hosts.
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Then, in their second innings, Australia were well underway before being struck on the third morning.
“What can Australia do from here? First, pick their best team and then play with the passion, tenacity and grit that is our hallmark. Australian fans know it’s tough in India.
“They can accept losing to a better side, but they will not see an Australian team playing carelessly and getting out in a session or two and twisting their toes inside three days. There is red-hot anger, bewilderment and embarrassment in our fans, Chappell said.
The remaining two tests are to be held in Indore and Ahmedabad.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)