"Didn't expect India to come back the way they did" - Usman Khawaja on Australia's defeat
India roared back to level the Border-Gavaskar series 1-1 with a dominant win over Australia in the second Test match by eight wickets. And former Australia batsman Usman Khawaja admitted that he was shocked to see India bounce back to beat Australia after the hammering they received in the first Test.
"I didn't expect India to come back the way they did after the first Test. India bowlers really well in that first innings. I actually thought they had a chance in the pink-ball game. But then it obviously didn't work out their way. I think it is a great series so far, and hopefully it will keep going the way it is. But it could be anyone's series at the moment."
India were dismissed by Australia for 36 in their second innings of the first Test match. But they followed it up by winning the second Test. The series is now evenly poised going into the final two matches in Sydney and Brisbane.
"We've been dominated by the bowlers" - Usman Khawaja
Usman Khawaja feels that Australia bowled beautifully, but the India bowlers have made life difficult for them in the first two games. Australia's top score as a team in the series so far is 200 and none of their players have gotten close to a century. Even the likes of Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been kept quiet by the India bowlers. But Khawaja believes that the SCG being a good batting deck will allow the batsmen to find their rhythm.
"I think it's fairly even at the moment. Their bowlers are bowling really well and their players are just not letting Australia get off anywhere, particularly our batting. Our bowlers are bowling beautifully too. We've been dominated by the bowlers a fair bit. But SCG is usually a pretty good deck."
The third Test match of the Border-Gavaskar trophy begins on January 7 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. A win for India will help them retain the trophy, while Australia will be determined to get back their series lead. Ahead of the third Test, Australia have dropped batsman Joe Burns from the squad, with David Warner set to take his place in the team.