"Very hard to replicate Jasprit Bumrah" - Andrew McDonald on combating pacer's challenge in nets ahead of BGT 2024/25 2nd Test
Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald acknowledged that it's quite hard to prepare for someone like Jasprit Bumrah during their net sessions due to his unique trajectory and release points. McDonald stated that the challenge for them is to score off Bumrah as much as they can in the remaining four Tests.
Bumrah rattled the Australian batters in the opening Test in Perth, utilizing the conditions to significant effect. The 30-year-old picked up five wickets in the first innings to salvage for India a 46-run lead and followed it up with three more in the second innings to fashion a massive 295-run victory.
Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday (November 26), the former all-rounder equated preparing for Bumrah as prepping for slip-catching, given how it varies in game situations. He said, as quoted by cricket.com.au:
"It's always in our preparation that we've got that factored in – release points, trajectories, those types of things. We are covering those off but it's very hard to replicate Bumrah.
"There not two of him so it's like slips catches, we try our best to replicate those but in practice they don't look like they do in a game. You get as close to that as you possibly can (but) it's a challenge to me it's about how you're going to score runs off Jasprit."
Australia's batters also struggled against Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana to a certain extent. After folding for 104 in their first innings, the hosts responded by scoring 238 in the fourth innings, but still couldn't prevent a 295-run loss.
"He's the player that we need" - Andrew McDonald on Marnus Labuschagne
With Marnus Labuschagne heavily under the scanner after scores of 2 and 0 in Perth, McDonald suggested the need for the right-hander to show some intent to return to form. The 43-year-old added:
"We look at the way he plays, and when he's at his best - and when we've seen him at his best he's shown great intent at the crease.
"That's an ongoing discussion and that ebbs and flows in players' careers, so at the moment he's in one of those patches and no doubt he'll be getting critiqued externally. But internally we're really confident that, at his best, he's the player that we need."
Australia are yet to lose a pink-ball Test in Adelaide, the venue of their second Test against India that gets underway on December 6.