Pat Cummins (Photo Source – Twitter/X)
Australia were unbeaten for six games at the Optus Stadium in Perth before India handed them an embarrassing 295-run defeat on Monday, November 25. The batting unit of the Pat Cummins-led side never looked comfortable facing the Indian quicks as the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj wreaked havoc in the middle. The three most senior batters in the Australia squad – Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, and Usman Khawaja- were ineffective.
The team is reported to be divided into two halves as well. The commentators throughout the day analyzed Josh Hazlewood’s comments on the press conference, in which, he wanted the batters to step up and do well and mentioned that he is already thinking about the next game. Australia captain Pat Cummins meanwhile was said to be ‘disappointed’ after the Perth defeat. He noted that the preparation leading to the first Test was good but they failed to meet the expectations.
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“Fairly disappointing. We thought our prep leading into it was good. Everyone was firing. It’s just one of those games.. not much went right. It is what it is. After a loss, you want to get back on the horse pretty quickly. But we’ll take a couple of days rest and get into Adelaide. We didn’t give ourselves a chance – a few different facets. Late on Day 1, if we had gotten through that period, things would’ve been different on Day 2. There’s a lot of experience there (in the batting),” Cummins said in the post-match presentation.
We were really well prepared: Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah was elated after winning his first Test as captain. The ace pacer stated that the team prepared well and analyzed that the surface was less spicy than in 2018 – when India last played a Test at Optus.
“Very happy with the beginning. Were put under pressure in the first innings, but the way we responded after that – very proud. Played here in 2018. I remember that when you start here, the wicket is a little soft and then it gets quicker and quicker. Was relying on that experience. This wicket was a little less spicy than the last one. We were really well prepared so I was telling everyone to have faith in their process and ability. On a given day, experience does matter, but if you have faith you can do something special,” Bumrah said.