'Not picking a single wicket?' Aakash Chopra highlights the most troublesome aspect of India's defeat against Australia
The Men in Blue never really turned up on the day, and were bullied by the rampaging and ruthless Aussies to the tune of ten wickets.
In the end, it turned out to be a one-sided encounter of epic proportions. It was expected to be a battle between two heavyweights, it was expected to be a battle between equals, a contest between Dhawan & Warner, Shami & Cummins or Starc vs Bumrah, but the Men in Blue never really turned up on the day, and were bullied by the rampaging and ruthless Aussies to the tune of ten wickets.
It was a forgettable day for India, one which was compounded by their own inhibitions. It all started when Aaron Finch decided to win the toss and put the home side to bat. The Men in Blue had to make a decision between KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, but all they did was another attempt at botched experimentation.
After Dhawan and Rahul stitched a 100+stand for the second wicket, the Men in Blue were looking on the course of posting a competitive target but a mixture of reckless stroke-making and subtle variations in bowling saw them lose their next four wickets within a space of the next 36 runs. India was eventually bowled out for 255, and even though the target was well below-par, the fans were hopeful that the quality in their bowling unit will help Team India make a match out of it.
Aakash Chopra laments on the inability of the Indian bowlers
But, unfortunately, that didn’t happen. David Warner and Aaron Finch, in a partnership for the ages, pur the Indian bowling attack to the sword to inflict a ten-wicket shellacking on the hosts. And, like all fans, former cricketer-turned commentator believes that India not being able to take a single wicket is more troubling than the batting-unit getting bowled out for 255.
“What’s more troubling—India getting dismissed for 255 inside 50 overs. Or India not picking a single wicket? I’m going with the latter. One-sided in the end. #IndvAus” Akash Chopra tweeted.
In a bid to extract the non-existent swing, the Indian seamers bowled too full at the start of the Australian innings, and the duo of David Warner and Aaron Finch cashed-in on it big time.
Out came the free-flowing cover-drives and whenever the Indians compensated with their lengths, they proceeded to overcompensate for it and were met with scorching backfoot punches. As a result, the target was finally achieved in the 38th over as India went on to taste their first 10-wicket loss on home soil since 2005.
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