As India crushed the Australians by an inning and 132 runs in Nagpur, the existing series of looming questions over the Australia cricket team have only aggravated. The hosts were a dominating force throughout the entire match, not letting the visitors make a comeback even once.
Though the spin was the differentiating factor between the two sides, batting was something that let down the Aussies most. The team only managed a total of 177 and 91 runs in the two innings. While the visitors’ selections were already frowned upon, the focus has now shifted to the batters, especially David Warner.
“That’s where it got murky”- Mitchell Johnson
Warner, who averages only 22.16 in India, compared to his 58.39 runs at home, continued his poor form scoring 11 runs in the opener which made the former Australian star question the ‘double standards’ of Australia’s selection, suggesting to drop the veteran opener ahead of the Delhi test.
“I would drop David Warner, elevate Matthew Renshaw to open, and bring Travis Head into the middle order. If it’s about horses for courses policy based on the previous form in the subcontinent, why didn’t that apply to Warner? That’s where it got murky for me”. wrote Johnson in his column.
Batting conundrum for Australia
Things began when Mohammad Siraj trapped Usman Khawaja on his first ball of the game , and the whole batting unit came crumbling down, except Labuschagne and Smith’s partnership in the middle which did last long and Warner’s double failure was a part of Australia’s overall three-day depressing stretch.
The team which practiced much on the wickets of Bengaluru ahead of the series to find individual ‘methods and techniques’ to survive the conditions, clearly looked out of place against the spin trio of India led by Ashwin and Jadeja. And now that this is been called on, it is to be noted that Warner’s possible replacement in Head has a poor track record in the sub-continent, averaging 21 in seven Tests.
Whether the veteran batter retains and justifies his spot or gets axed, it is upon Pat Cummins and the management to decide. India leading by 1-0, will meet Australia for the second test in Delhi on 17 February.