Australians didn’t know what to do when India fought back: Ex-Pakistan spinner after hosts win Delhi Test

Indian spinners R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja dominated proceedings versus Australia on Day 3 of the second Test, in New Delhi on Sunday (February 19), to help Rohit Sharma & Co. win by six wickets. With Australia resuming the day’s play with an overall lead of 62 runs, with nine wickets in hand, they fell like nine pins to be dismissed for a paltry 113 with Jadeja returning with 7 for 42 whereas Ashwin accounted for the remaining three scalps. Chasing 114, India achieved the target with six wickets in hand to go 2-0 up in the series and take an unassailable lead in the 2022/23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

After the match, former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria was unimpressed with Australia and claimed that they had no clue what to do once India fought back in the contest. Australia had done a decent job gaining a run’s lead but fell flat on Day 3, when they had a chance to set a difficult target. 

‘This defeat will make the Australian team cry’

Speaking on his Youtube channel, Kaneria said, “The Australian batters don’t know how to play in front of the stumps. They all got out trying to play the sweep shot. Being the captain, is this how Pat Cummins should have batted? He had a chat with Peter Handscomb as he walked out to bat. I think he was scared once he knew there was a lot of turn. If an Indian or Pakistani captain did this, he would be sent home the next day.”

“This defeat will make the Australian team cry. This won’t let them make a comeback. They had the upper hand over India at one stage. However, they didn’t know what was to be done when India fought back,” Kaneria asserted.

The former spinner further added, “The Australian batters had no answers against the Indian spinners. They didn’t know what to do and ended up blindly sweeping the ball. Ravindra Jadeja was fantastic with the ball, and Ravichandran Ashwin also used his experience very nicely. Rohit Sharma did the right thing by giving them long spells. Australia’s scorecard looked like someone’s mobile number.”

The third and penultimate Test kicks off in Indore on March 01 with the visitors having a herculean task to prevent a whitewash. India, on the other hand, need one more win to confirm themselves a spot in the WTC final.