Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke was not at all impressed with Australia’s showing in the past two Test matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Having seen Pat Cummins’ men being completely outplayed on all fronts, Clarke has pointed out some ‘major mistakes’ which led to Australia’s meltdown.
Rohit Sharma-led Team India successfully retained the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 after taking a 2-0 lead in the series. Following a win by 132 runs and an inning in the first Test in Nagpur, the hosts won by 6 wickets in Delhi on Sunday.
Clarked meanwhile who enjoyed a sublime 150-run knock on his debut against India pointed out how the Australian batters looked to sweep without fully getting a hang of the conditions.
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Speaking on Sky Sports Radio’s BSB, Clarke said, “We haven’t adapted to conditions. I’m not saying don’t sweep in India, I’m saying the opposite. I’m saying you sweep at the right time, at the right stage of your innings, on the right pitch and, generally, with the spin.”
“It’s very hard to sweep against the spin when the ball is not bouncing. So, basics of batting and facing spin bowling in those conditions we are getting so wrong,” he added.
Apart from the poor shot selection Clarke also berated the lack of aggressive fielding set-up from Cummins, who appeared to give away an easy route to the Indian players.
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He also lamented the fact that Australia decided not to play any tour games, which would have helped the batters assess the conditions a tad bit better.
“We didn’t have a tour game. Major, major, major mistake. At least one tour game over there to get used to the conditions,” Clarked added.
He further continued, “Our selections for the first Test – major, major, major mistake. One cost us a chance, I reckon, of winning the T20 World Cup, and this 100 per cent cost us the first Test if not the second Test.”
While Cummins has returned back to Australia due to his family commitments, the Aussies will be hoping to salvage some pride when the two sides lock horns in Indore in the third Test.
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