"It was panicky, frenetic sort of batting" - Allan Border lambasts Australia's batters after crumbling on day three in Delhi
Former Australian captain Allan Border came down hard on Pat Cummins and co. after crumbling on day three of the first Test against India in Delhi. The 67-year-old stated that the tourists were highly reckless in their approach.
Australia started day three with 61-1 and were 62 ahead, but ended up losing their remaining nine wickets in the first session for 52 runs. India chased the target of 115 runs in the second session of the game.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, Border expressed his anger, claiming that the visitors panicked in the moment and played sweep shots recklessly:
"I’m angry about the way they went about it today. It was panicky, frenetic sort of batting, nobody got in there to stem the flow with some good defensive cricket. They were all just getting out playing sweep shot, reverse sweep to just about every ball."
The former Aussie cricketer added:
"You’re not playing on a flat belter where you can expand your game. When playing on a difficult surface, you’ve got to work out where your scoring options are and bat some time at the crease."
Australia's hopes of regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended in two and a half days as they failed to gain a sizeable lead. The tourists last held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the 2014-15 series.
"What we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia" - Matthew Hayden
Former opening batter Matthew Hayden underlined that the national team's batting performance was a disaster, stating that they played too aggressively. The Queenslander added:
"I can't believe what I've just witnessed here. These are world-class players, and they’ve got everything to win and everything to lose in this session."
Australia captain Pat Cummins says the batters went away from their methods and plans with sweep shots proving fatal
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He continued:
"They did it so well last evening in those few overs. Strong scoring rate, good defence, proactive batting. But what we’ve seen here is a disaster for Australia. They’ve gone way over the edge in terms of their aggressive play."
The third Test against India starts on March 1st in Indore.