After taking an unassailable 2-0 lead following wins in Nagpur and Delhi, the Indians were hammered by the spirited Australian side in the Indore Test.
“Little complacency” and “overconfidence” let India down in the Indore Test, said former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was at pains to see the hosts capitulate in the third encounter of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Having taken a 2-0 lead in the four-Test series after wins in Nagpur and Delhi, the Indians had cricket experts backing them to pull off a complete whitewash over their struggling arch-rivals. But the tables turned dramatically in just over two days of play at the Holkar stadium, where the tourists bounced back with a nine-wicket win.
On a raging turner designed for Indians to continue hammering the Aussies, the hosts were bundled out for scores of 109 and 163 and found life extremely difficult against the visiting spin pack led by ‘Player of the Match’ Nathan Lyon, who picked up figures of 3/35 and 8/64.
Shastri, who was commentating for the Indore Test, said it was a case of complacency seeping into the Indian mindset as they seemingly believed the tourists would just roll over against their spinners once again and that they can use their batting depth to bail them out of strife one more time.
“This is what a little complacency, a little bit of overconfidence can do where you take things for granted, you drop guard and this game will bring you down,” Shastri told host broadcasters Star Sports after India were left heavily bruised and battered by a spirited Australian side that outperformed them in every department.
The ex coach and renowned commentator stressed on India’s shot-making to assert his point, especially in the first half, where he felt the Indians thought they can just dominate the Australian spin troika of Lyon, Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann regardless of the nature of the pitch.
“I think it was a combination of all these things when you actually cast your mind back to the first innings, see some of the shots played, see some of the over-eagerness to try and dominate in these conditions. You reflect back, take a step back or two to analyse,” Shastri added, with the track in Indore not only offering spinners sharp turn but also going through with inconsistent bounce.
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The defeat in Indore has brought the series scoreline to 2-1, giving Australia a definite spot in the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) in June. For Indians to arrange a rematch against them at The Oval, they must win the fourth and final Test in Ahmedabad, starting March 9.
