Matthew Wade disappointed with Australia's poor show with the bat
Australian opener Matthew Wade accepted the hosts' failure with the bat in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The 33-year-old said the Aussies were unable to wear down Indian bowlers and cash in on bad balls.
Trailing by 131 runs from their first innings, Australia needed a spirited display with the bat to remain alive in the Test. However, India's bowlers did not let them score freely. Pitching the ball in good areas, the visitors made life difficult for Australian batsmen and restricted them to 133-6 by the end of day three.
In a video conference at the end of the day's play, Matthew Wade explained how Indian bowlers stuck to an immaculate line and length and made runs difficult to come by.
"We've only got ourselves to blame a little bit there, but they've (India) been pretty much on the mark from the start. To be fair we haven't gone deep enough yet to really cash in on tired bowlers late in the day. Hard to get going, they're bowling pretty well, pretty straight, making it hard for us to score," Wade said.
Anything over a lead of 100 will be good: Matthew Wade
At one stage, the hosts were 99-6 and it looked as if Team India could hand the Aussies an innings defeat. But Pat Cummins came to the crease and saw out the rest of the day alongside Cameron Green, adding an unbeaten 34 runs for the seventh wicket.
With the lead at 2 runs, Matthew Wade is hopeful the Australian tail will wag hard and will take it past the three-figure mark. He understands the partnership between Cummins and Green will be crucial for the Aussies.
"We will take anything to be honest. Anything over 100 will be good. It would be really if these two put on a nice partnership together, something we haven't done enough of over this Test match," Matthew Wade stated.
While Matthew Wade is hoping for a lead of at least 100 runs, the visitors will be keen to pick up the last four wickets as soon as possible and chase down the target to level the series 1-1.