Australia endured a stunning batting collapse on Day 3 of the second Test against India, as the side lost seven wickets in the first session – including six in the opening hour of the day. India's left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja picked a five-wicket haul as Australia's over-reliance on the sweep shot came back to haunt them in the match in Delhi.
The side's middle-order of Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb, and Alex Carey scored a combined total of 18 runs, while Pat Cummins was also dismissed on a first-ball duck in a humiliating batting collapse at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
As Jadeja ran through the batting order, former India opener Gautam Gambhir tore into the side's batters for their lack of application in the innings. Gambhir was critical of Australia batters attempting the sweep shots despite it being a dangerous option on the low-bouncing Day 3 wicket in Delhi.
“Aapne bola ye kharaab shot hai, main kahunga pathetic. (You're saying these are bad shots. I will say these are pathetic),” Gambhir told his fellow commentator colleague Jatin Sapru on Star Sports.
{{/usCountry}}“Aapne bola ye kharaab shot hai, main kahunga pathetic. (You're saying these are bad shots. I will say these are pathetic),” Gambhir told his fellow commentator colleague Jatin Sapru on Star Sports.
{{/usCountry}}"The wicket has nothing to do with this. It hasn't behave very badly. The delivery to Travis Head was great, I don't think he should be too unhappy about how he was dismissed. But if you're looking to sweep on a low-bouncing wicket… Usman Khawaja was out while attempting the sweep, so did Steve Smith and Matt Renshaw.
“The ball isn't coming above the shin height and you are attempting sweep… we are always told to play with the straight bat on such wickets,” said Gambhir further.
Australia were eventually bowled out on 113 in the second innings, handing India a 115-run target to win in Delhi. Ravindra Jadeja produced a sublime performance, as he registered figures of 7/42; Ashwin, meanwhile, picked three wickets.