Ravi Shastri reveals fundamental reason behind Australia's dismal display on India tour

Ravi Shastri, the former coach of the Indian cricket team, has said Australia's failure to apply themselves and their lack of trust in their defence mechanisms have resulted in their loss of the first two Tests in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the Delhi Test, the Australian batsmen's tendency to play sweep shots and subsequently get dismissed has drawn harsh criticism from former players and analysts. Shastri said Australian batsmen must trust their defence in order to spend some time at the crease.

“I think application (has let them down) more than anything else; the lack of belief in their own defence. The lack of application and the lack of discipline was unreal and Australia paid for it big time. If you don‘t trust your defence, you have no chance because that’s when you entertain thoughts of breaking free, much quicker than you normally should. Sometimes you‘ve got to spend some time at the crease, but how are you going to spend some time at the crease if you don’t trust your defence?" Shastri said. 

"But I didn‘t see one Australian batsman (do that). What surprised me was some of their most senior players also came out there and looked to do things out of the ordinary, something they’re not used to. So I think it‘s patience, it’s an application, it’s discipline and trusting your defence," he added. 

Australia's struggle with spin continues 

Australia got bowled out for just 113 runs in their second innings of the Delhi Test match. Most of their batsmen got dismissed while attempting to play the sweep shot. It seemed the Australian team had decided they will only play sweep shots after Usman Khawaja found some success attacking the bowlers in the first innings of the same match. This resulted in Australia getting bowled out for a low score and India chasing down the target within two sessions on Day 3 of the match.   

The third Test match is scheduled to take place in Indore starting March 1. Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the third Test and Steve Smith will captain in his absence. Cummins has flown back to Australia due to a family emergency. 

Australia squad for the third Test: Steve Smith (captain), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matt Kuhnemann.

Image: PTI/BCCI