India vs Australia 2017: 5 reasons why India succumbed to a huge loss in Pune
The odds were unequivocally in their favor. The last time that India had been defeated in a Test was 19 matches back in Galle. On home soil, one had to go back more than 4 years and 20 games for their previous loss. Adding Australia’s sequence of 9 consecutive losses in Asia, the first Test in Pune seemed like a foregone conclusion.
However, what transpired simply defied belief as the visitors conjured up a sensational performance to trounce India by 333 runs within 3 days. With Steven Smith taking control and Steve O’Keefe slicing through their batting lineup, Virat Kohli’s troops received an unexpected hammering at the hands of a well-prepared outfit.
Let us take a look at five major reasons why India capsized to a humiliating loss in the opening Test.
#5 – Anything that could go wrong went wrong
Well, it had to happen at some time. As dominant as their recent form had been, the unavoidable Murphy’s Law has always lurked in the shadows. It almost seemed like this match was perfectly set-up for India to enact their first slip-up in a long time.
Right from the moment skipper Kohli lost the toss, India found themselves pushed on the back foot. Their body language only appeared to worsen with each session. Though a few tight 50-50 calls did not go their way, they certainly did not help themselves by giving a precise demonstration of how not to use the Decision Review System (DRS).
With all three departments of their game coming to a grinding halt at the same time, the situation was tailor made for Australia to capitalise.