Sanjay Manjrekar assesses the primary reason behind Australia's collapse in Delhi Test
Pat Cummins was bowled after miscuing a wild sweep [Source: AP]
Continuing their horrendous run in India, Australia suffered a crushing six-wicket defeat in Delhi Test, as the hosts took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ongoing four-match series without breaking a sweat.
In the aftermath of India's clinical win, former cricketer-turned-broadcaster Sanjay Manjrekar explained what exactly led to Australia's debacle in the Test match.
In his column for the Hindustan Times, Manjrekar opined that Usman Khawaja's success with the sweep shots prompted the other batters to adopt the same methodology against the Indian spinners, which in turn badly backfired on them.
"Khawaja played all the sweeps there are in the modern game and succeeded. He got 81 in the first innings after scores of 1 and 5 in Nagpur. That success of Khawaja actually was the main reason for Australia’s batting failure in the second innings. Each Australian batter after that came in with a mindset to attack and that too with the sweep shot; ‘sweep to succeed’ seemed to be their motto."
Furthermore, the 57-year-old reverberated that Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Peter Handscomb naturally possess a good defensive game, and therefore, they didn't need an ultra-aggressive approach for their survival on the turning Delhi deck.
"If Smith and Labuschagne had not bought into the overall team tactics, I have no doubt they would have made this win for India far more hard earned. I believe Peter Handscomb, Smith and Labuschagne are good enough batters to play their natural game and make valuable contributions to their side. All the three judge the length of spinners really well and are secure in defence."
Meanwhile, the third Test between the two teams will be played in Indore in March 1. India, having a lead of 2-0, have already retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth consecutive time.
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