IND v AUS 2020: 'I don't think it's a 36 all out wicket' - Michael Hussey feels pitch not to be blamed for Indian cricket team's collapse
The Indian cricket team registered their lowest total in Test cricket history on Saturday. In the day/night Test against Australia, Virat Kohli's men scored a mere 36 runs in their second innings at Adelaide Oval.
The Indian cricket team lost all their wickets to Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. While the pitch played a role in the Indian collapse, Michael Hussey believes it was not that bad.
In Hussey's view, all the Indian batsmen except Virat Kohli did not have the proper footwork to succeed on Australian pitches. In his post-match analysis for ESPNCricinfo, Hussey said:
"I don't think it's a 36 all-out wicket. You know, it's not that bad. I think India will be very disappointed with that, but this Australian attack was relentless. Indian batsmen, in general, don't like to take that big stride forward. There was sort of a half stride forward. Virat Kohli is probably the exception."
The Aussie pacers changed their lengths and bowled a bit fuller in the second innings. Hussey lauded them for those minute alterations.
Michael Hussey explains the reason behind the Indian cricket team's collapse
Describing how the pitch played some role in the Indian cricket team's disastrous performance, Hussey continued:
"As the pitch dries out and gets a little bit harder, it starts getting a lot more pace into it. It does not quite do as much off the seam, but it does it quickly. And what often happens on Australian pitches is that they start slowly on the first day but then pick up the pace."
Michael Hussey pointed out more wickets fell on Day 2 and Day 3 than on the first day because of the extra pace and bounce. He highlighted that the batsmen did not have enough time to adjust themselves to the seam movement or the swing.
Hussey concluded that although the Indian cricket team scored 244 runs in the first innings, the batsmen struggled to replicate the same performance in the second innings.