Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
'It's a disaster. It was panicky, frenetic...': Aussie legends 'shell-shocked, angry' after India thrashing in 2nd Test
The loss and more so, the cataclysmic batting collapse, left Australia legends in complete shock and anger as they tore into the Pat Cummins-led side.
If the entirety of Nagpur Test was humiliation for Australia, Day 3 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was catastrophic. After Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne guided the tourists to 61 for 1 at close of Day 2, Australia were expected to make the most of the lead and improved approach after Nagpur debacle and set an imposing target. But what eventually happened was a disastrous collapse as Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja worked their magic on the third afternoon, picking the remaining nine wickets in just 90 minutes. India later wrapped up the match with a comfortable six-wicket win, scripting yet another victory over the Aussies in just three days. The loss and more so, the cataclysmic batting collapse, left legends like Allan Border and Matthew Hayden in complete shock and anger as they tore into the Pat Cummins-led side.
Ashwin opened the gates in the very first over Day 3 and rest of the Aussie line-up fell like nine pins. Starting the day at 61 for 1, Australia were folded for just 113 with no other double-digit scores and three ducks.
In utter disbelief, Hayden said in commentary: “Well, I can’t believe what I’ve just witnessed here. What we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia. They’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play.”
“These are world-class players, and they’ve got everything to win and everything to lose in this session,” he later added. “They did it so well last evening in those few overs. Strong scoring rate, good defence, proactive batting. But what we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia. They’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play.”
In reply, India lost KL Rahul early for just one while captain Rohit Sharma sacrificed his wicket after a horrible mix-up. Todd Murphy once again got the better of Virat Kohli, getting him stumped for 20 while Shreyas Iyer was dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 12. India eventually closed the Test match in the second session of the third day, winning by six wickets in the 27th over of the innings.
Speaking on Fox Cricket, former Australian captain Border said he was “disappointed” and “shell-shocked” at Australia's batting. “I’m angry about the way they went about it today,” he said. "It was panicky, frenetic sort of batting … nobody got in there to stem the flow with some good defensive cricket. They were all just getting out playing sweep shot, reverse sweep to just about every ball. You can’t get away with that on that sort of track. You’ve got to have a method.”
India now head into the third Test in Indore with an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. The match will begin from March 1 onwards.
