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Pat Cummins admits Australia ‘hurt’ after collapsing to shock six wicket defeat to India… as skipper pinpoints cause of Australians’ downfall after tourists lose NINE wickets in a single session
Pat Cummins admitted Australia was ‘hurt’ after collapsing to an embarrassing six-wicket defeat in Delhi in the second Test of the series against India.
The hosts retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time in a row after chasing down 115 on Day Three after Australia collapsed to 113 in just 90 minutes.
Beaten by an innings and 132 runs at Nagpur in the opening Test after losing 10 wickets in a single session in their second dig, the tourists lost nine at the Arun Jaitley Stadium before lunch after resuming 1-61.
“I think this one is particularly disappointing, having been ahead of the game for a long time,” Cummins said after the game.
“Such opportunities don’t come along often in India, so you have to take advantage of them.
Pat Cummins admitted Australia were ‘hurt’ after losing by six wickets to India in Delhi
The Aussies are now 2-0 in the four Test series and unable to claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy
‘So unfortunately we missed this one and it hurts a bit. The review in the next few days will be what we could have done differently.
Australia made 263 in their first innings and held India 4-87 at lunch and then 7-139 in the second session, but Axar Patel and Ravi Ashwin compiled a crucial 114-run eight-wicket partnership.
Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne steered the tourists to 1-61 overnight after trading a tricky 13 overs before stumps on day two, but all their hard work came undone in a calamitous session on Sunday.
‘I thought 260 was a decent score on that first wicket day [but India] he hit pretty well,’ Cummins said of Australia’s first innings.
Australia’s attempts to sweep the Indian spinners failed spectacularly, with Steve Smith, Matthew Renshaw and captain Cummins ruled out as they tried to play the same shot.
And the Australian captain admitted that the batsmen strayed from their usual run-scoring methods, which led to their downfall.
“I thought they bowled very well, it’s not easy, but maybe some guys strayed from their methods,” Cummins said.
‘Every hitter has his own way of doing it. I don’t think there is a one size fits all rule.
Steve Smith (centre) was out for nine, falling UBW to Ravi Ashwin as Australia lost nine wickets in the morning session to unravel to 113 after resuming from 1-61
Matthew Renshaw was one of several Australian batsmen to come off after playing a sweeping shot.
“Unfortunately, quite a few of us come out with cross shots that might not be our preferred method.”
Australia remains the world’s No. 1 ranked team in Test cricket, but India can seal a place in the world Test cricket final by winning the third test, which begins in Indore on March 1.
“Fantastic result for us,” said Indian captain Rohit Sharma.
‘Looking at how things were yesterday. The way we came back and finished the job was a great effort, especially from the bowlers’.