With a slender lead of one run, the Australian batters turned up in the second innings of the second Test in New Delhi with a rather dubious approach. It all kicked off on day three, when the visitors employed the sweep shot vociferously without much rewards in return. The plan was evident, especially with the way skipper Pat Cummins came out sweeping the very first delivery. 

Former Indian coach Ravi Shastri insisted that the lack of belief in their own defence has come very costly for the visitors. He also reckoned that there was a severe lack of application on the part of Cummins’ and co’s batting approach. 

"I think application (has let them down) more than anything else. The lack of belief in their own defence,” Shastri said in the latest episode of the ICC Review. 

"The lack of application and the lack of discipline was unreal and Australia paid for it big time.”

Given that Australia have already conceded the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Shastri wants to see more of the basics from the Australian batters. 

"It's very important to go back to the basics, go back to the drawing board,” he said.

“If you don't trust your defence, you have no chance because that's when you entertain thoughts of breaking free, much quicker than you normally should.

"Sometimes you've got to spend some time at the crease, but how are you going to spend some time at the crease if you don't trust your defence? 

“But I didn't see one Australian batsman (do that). What surprised me was some of their most senior players also came out there and looked to do things out of the ordinary, something they're not used to far quicker than later. And especially in conditions that suit the Indians. 

Australia’s qualification hope for World Test Championship (WTC) final is still not a confirmed one, and a 4-0 loss here combined with a 2-0 win for Sri Lanka in New Zealand could well mean an exit for the World No.1 Test side. 

"A 4-0 win here psychologically does send a strong signal to the opposition," Shastri noted.

"There will be an impact, but conditions are different as Australia will have their fast bowlers back as a lot of them are injured, 

"But that psychological dent will make India believe that, even in those conditions, they're good enough to upstage Australia."