Last Update: February 11, 2023, 18:19 IST
Pat Cummins talking to the media after the humiliating defeat against India
There is nothing great about the much-hyped Nagpur pitch but Australia skipper Pat Cummins spoke of their failure to execute their plans and they need to take the lead in the series like India.
Before the start of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023, the focus was nowhere but on the Nagpur pitch. Unit led by Pat Cummins. India There is a history of making pitches that assist spinners.
But this time, the headlines from the 22-yard bar at VCA Stadium were somewhat over the top.
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But when Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj sent Usman Khawaja and David Warner packing respectively inside the first 10 minutes of the Nagpur Test, all the noise around the track and ‘India stitching their side’ vanished into thin air. Went. Furthermore, the Australian media went into radio silence when some left-handers – Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel – played chillingly against someone like Nathan Lyon, whom they sometimes referred to as The Goat – The Greatest of All Time. We do.
By the end of the Test which India had won by an innings and 132 runs. Australia had only two things to speak of – first, Todd Murphy’s brilliance on debut and then ‘failing to execute’ their plans after employing Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling-double after grinding on the outskirts of Bengaluru was created.
At the post-match presser on Saturday, Cummins admitted that the unit could not implement what was initially decided in the board room.
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Cummins told reporters after the humiliating defeat in Nagpur, “We faced very tough bowlers in this Test, we had our plans, but we could not execute them.”
“The game really speeds up in India, they put a lot of pressure. He bowled well, (he) is a master of spin. To be honest, we have to find our own ways to combat this. You see (Steve) Smith and (Alex) Carey putting pressure on the bowlers, it takes a bit of bravery. We weren’t proactive enough, that will be the conversation in the Delhi Test,” he said.
The plan is fine. But was the Nagpur pitch really so scary that it became the talk of the town before the match?
Well, the captain handled it smartly and spoke the naked eye in all eight seasons.
“The pitch, as expected, did not have much bounce for the fast bowlers. For three days, the spinners looked dangerous, so no real surprises in what we had expected,” Cummins said.
Cummins, who has been impressive since taking charge of the Test side, was all praise for Ashwin, however, who claimed his 450th wicket in the first innings and claimed a five-wicket haul in the second innings, which proved India’s clinical form. Played a key role in the victory.
“Ashwin is a world-class bowler in these conditions, an all-time Indian great. That’s always going to be a challenge. Also, we need to give time to the bowlers and the way they carried their batting, we need to do the same,” Cummins said.
Australia will have a huge advantage in the Delhi Test starting February 17 as Mitchell Starc will be a value addition. While the left-arm pacer arrives in India on Saturday, questions arise over the availability of Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green.
“Stark lands in Delhi today. Hazlewood will not be ready for the second test. [Cmeron] Green, we are not sure, we will have to assess in the next couple of days,” said Cummins.
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