The Australian team had another disappointment to their dismay on Sunday as India regained the 4th consecutive Border-Gavaskar Series. The hosts led by Rohit Sharma, defeated Australia by six wickets in the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi to lead the four-match series 2-0.
The win came on the back of Australia’s great fallout, where they went from 61/1 on day 2 to being bowled out on 113 runs in the first session of day 3. And many believe that there is no coming back for the Aussie in the series.
“They totally lost their way”- Ian Chappell
Following the loss, the former Australian batter Ian Chappell believes that it was the visitor’s aggressive approach that cost them, giving India a perfect opportunity for a 4-0 whitewash.
“I thought the Australians were very brave in the evening session of the second day and were also in an equal position after one innings. But then, they lost their way.” said Ian Chappell.
“Coming back from it mentally is going to be very, very difficult. You don’t have to do it just once, but twice. On that basis, you’d have to say India has a big chance of winning the series 4-0.” said Chappell.
Aggression not on an answer?
The Australians after an underwhelming show in the first test decided to go with an aggressive approach in Delhi however as Chappell believes, certain Australian batsmen lacked confidence in their defensive strategy, which is why they turned to sweep the ball to get rid of Indian tweakers.
Even players like Steven Smith went about reverse sweeps and sweep shots, which is not quite considered his forte finally losing his wicket to Ashwin.
“Australian players who don’t trust their defense on these turning tacks against these Indian spinners. If you don’t trust your defense in those circumstances, you can be panicked into doing something that is not natural.” said Ian Chappell.
“When you see Steve Smith attempting a big sweep and missing it by a long way, you sort of think to yourself, ‘Steve, that’s not your game’ “ he added.
India with this win has inched one step closer to the World Test Championships Finals and a possible no.1 spot in all three formats. The visitors will now face the Indians on March 1 in Indore with the hope to push the series to a draw.