"The Aussies must have a tight first hour" - Ian Healy urges Pat Cummins and co. to bounce back on day two of Nagpur Test
Former Australian keeper-batter Ian Healy believes Pat Cummins and co. must 'own' day two of the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test against India in Nagpur to stay in the contest. Healy also reckoned that the effort had to be from the players instead of relying on the coaches.
Despite winning the toss and electing to bat first, Australia failed to score big and folded for 177 as Ravindra Jadeja took a fifer. The likes of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Peter Handscomb started promisingly, but couldn't turn it into a big score.
Speaking to SEN 1170 Breakfast, the 59-year-old said Australia must have a tight first hour on day two regardless of wickets or not. The 119-Test veteran especially want the quicks to find the correct lengths after faring poorly on day one. Ian Healy said:
"The players have to own it. They can’t rely on the coaches. It’s got to be actions. They have to start without the boundaries they dished up so that the Indian batsmen could get on the scoreboard. The Aussies must have a tight first hour and it doesn’t matter whether they get wickets or not. They have to bowl perfectly today and the quicks have to find their lengths because they were too full yesterday."
Australia's debutant Todd Murphy gave the tourists a glimmer of hope by nipping out KL Rahul late in the day. While Nathan Lyon was slightly threatening, the experienced campaigner couldn't create enough chances.
"Another hard thing about this Indian batting line up is that the spinners can bat" - Ian Healy
Ian Healy further pointed out that Australia have their task cut out as India have a deep batting line-up.
He stated:
"Another hard thing about this Indian batting line up is that the spinners can bat. Ashwin is in there now and he has made five hundreds in Test cricket. He’s very comfortable and he has nothing to lose and they are all danger signs. Jadeja bats well, Axar Patel bats well and they’ll be batting at nine or 10 now that Ashwin is in at three."
Australia need a draw or win in the ongoing four-match series to seal a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final in June.