Nagpur, Feb 11: Australia captain Pat Cummins admitted that his team was neither “brave” nor “proactive” in their thought process which led to a comprehensive defeat in the first Test against India here on Saturday.
Australia were bowled out for 177 and 91 in their two innings with Ravichandran Ashwin (8 wickets) and Ravindra Jadeja (7 wickets) sharing 15 scalps between them in India’s win by an innings and 132-run margin.
Asked what went wrong for his team, Cummins said: “Hard to know. That will be the review the next few days. I think everyone came with pretty clear plans.
“The challenge is under the furnace to be brave enough to be proactive at the time. That will be the conversations over the next couple of days. We faced some pretty tough bowlers at times,” the Australia skipper said at the post-match media conference.
Cummins was categorical that his side’s defensive game won’t take them anywhere on Indian tracks.
“You saw (Steve) Smithy and Alex Carey at times put the pressure back on the bowlers. I think it takes a bit of bravery, it’s easier said than done. If you’re just facing ball after ball and the bowler’s pretty good you’re going to get one with your name on it. Again, that will be the conversation this week,” he said.
Cummins did not provide a satisfactory explanation as to how the team was skittled out in a single session between lunch and tea on Saturday.
“Playing in India, the game really speeds up. It’s a good thing if you are on top. But if you are behind, it can be really challenging. I thought all their bowlers bowled really well. They really put the pressure on us and next time we’ve got to find a way to manage that,” he said.
Credit to India’s bowling
The Australian skipper had no hesitation in giving the credit where it’s due and said his batters failed to find answers to India’s world class spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
“A lot of it was good bowling. Two masters of their craft, fresh legs, they bowled really well. In saying that I don’t think much is going to change the next couple of games. That’s what we’re going to come against so we have to find better methods.”
While he admitted that something needs to be done to his team, Cummins was against anything radical.
“We’ve had a really good run the last 12 months. There hasn’t been many losses in that change room. I don’t think we need to reinvent the wheel, it’s just tweaking different approaches as to how we play and maybe particular methods,” he said. (PTI)
