NEWS
Follow UsAustralia suffered an embarrassing innings and 132-run loss in the first Test against India in Nagpur on Saturday (February 11), inside three days. Many Australian batters got off to starts in the first innings but could not convert it to anything substantial, which is something skipper Pat Cummins rues, as they were bowled out for 177. India got to 400 thanks to a ton by Rohit Sharma and valuable fifties down the order from Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja. Mohammed Shami too got into the act with the bat with a valuable 37.
With a massive lead of 223 runs to overturn, Australia were on the back foot right away and were bundled out for just 91. However, former Australia batter Mark Waugh felt that the visitors did not force the issue with the ball enough and were in fact waiting for India to make a mistake.
"The pitch was fresh, it looked like it was spinning a lot more. They got Jadeja out early on. You have got to give credit to Axar Patel and Mohammad Shami, they batted really well. There was a dropped catch for Shami, which was costly. I think from my point of view, Patel batted really well", Waugh said on Star Sports.
"I would have liked to see Pat Cummins bowl a bit more. I don’t think they bowled enough short stuff. When the tail enders start to form a partnership and look comfortable on the crease, I believe it’s worth to roll the dice a little bit.
"I know the surface is slow but never know what you can get out of it. I think Australia only bowled two or three short balls in the entire innings. I think they should have hit the pitch hard and see what happens. Maybe the Australians are guilty of not trying enough and waiting for something to happen, a mistake by the Indian batters maybe."
India go 1-0 up in the four-match series, courtesy of this huge win. The two teams will lock horns in the second Test in Delhi, starting February 17. There is a high chance of Australia going in with three spinners for the game as they have added Matthew Kuhnemann to the squad.
