February 25, 2026

The Australians Show No Will To Fight Back, Allowed India To Dominate

By Slogger
First publised on 2023-02-12 06:53:56

About the Author

Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.

View all posts by this Author

India crushed Australia by an innings and 132 runs on the third day of the first Test in Nagpur. Continuing their dominance, both with the bat and the ball, from the first day, the Indians first extended their lead to 223 runs and then sent the Australians packing for just 91 runs in just under one session in the second innings to seal a comprehensive victory and go 1-0 up in the four match series.

Nothing clicked for the Australians in the Test. On a pitch on which they could not score more than 268 runs in two innings, the Indians batted with resolve to score 400 in just one innings. Going by their body language, it did not seem that this was an Australian team as the fighting spirit and the desire to take back the momentum even from losing positions was totally absent.

There was no devil in the pitch as first Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul and then Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel showed. The devil was in the minds of the Australians who showed no skill, will or temperament to apply themselves and fight it out. The will to take the fight to the opposition by attacking and not just prodding at turning balls was totally absent. The Indian bowlers had a plan for each Australian batsman but the Australians did not have any plan to counter-attack. Surviving on a spinning pitch against quality spinners needs at least one batter to go after them. Despite experienced players like David Warner, Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb, the Australians surrendered meekly, not once but twice.

If the Australians wish to keep the interest alive in the series, the next Test at Dharamshala is their best bet. The Indians are on fire and even the pacers, Md Shami and Md Shiraj bowled better than the Australian pacers. Although Todd Murphy took 7 wickets in the first Test, the Indians will read him better from now on. Nathan Lyon was totally ineffective. The Australian batters will have to show resolve and at least one or two of them will have to play long innings while at least one will have to go after the Indian spinners if they hope to avoid a whitewash.