Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, expressed his dissatisfaction at the way the Australian batters handled the spinners in the second Test in Delhi. After the game, Cummins commented on his batsmen’s ineffective sweep shot strategy against Indian spinners, “I thought they (India) bowled really well. It’s not easy out there, but perhaps some guys went away from their methods,” as quoted by NDTV.
He also added that “Each batter has their own way to go about it. I don’t think there’s any one size fits all rule. Unfortunately, quite a few of us got out with kind of cross-batted shots which might not be our preferred method.” The Australian captain also talked about the pace and technique of batsmen. According to him, the appropriate strategy should be used to balance the fast tempo.
“Two big things we talk about is the tempo of the game and the method. Maybe at times, we were a little bit too high on tempo,” said the 29-year-old, who prefers that approach. “I would rather be high tempo than low tempo though. To be honest, those wickets were difficult but maybe the method went a little bit away from what we planned to do at times.” The Australian captain also talked about the pace and technique of batsmen. According to him, the appropriate strategy should be used to balance the fast tempo. “Looking back on it, 300 would have been fantastic. 260 was ‘ok’ but if we really want to drive home the advantage we were a few short.”
He also drew parallels between the terrible batting efforts of his squad in the tests in Nagpur and Delhi. The visitors’ innings were bundled together in a session during the second inning. “It’s disappointing, this game was a similar story to Nagpur’s second innings. Felt like we were in a really good position for most of it, probably a few runs short in the end. In Nagpur maybe we underplayed. We probably overplayed it here at times in the second innings. You have got to find a way to try and put pressure back on the bowlers. They are really, really good bowlers, especially in these conditions.”
Cummins also praised the Indian lower order, saying they played excellent batting and formed vital partnerships. “Again they batted very well. They are guys who have scored Test hundreds and batted really well. I thought our plans were pretty sound most of the time but unfortunately, they built partnerships. There were a few instances throughout the first two days where you may feel like things would get a little simpler if you put yourself in place. The ball was aging and becoming softer. We will take a look at it. It’s depressing. The modest margins in both games ultimately make a significant difference, he said.