MELBOURNE: There were no demons on the MCG field, but very poor hitting by Australian hitters, said the legendary Ricky ponting, lashing out at local hitters for playing headlong shots at Indian bowlers in the second test.
India advances to a dominant series leveling victory after cutting Australia to 133 out of six in stumps on day three. The hosts are ahead by just two races with just four wickets in hand, entering the penultimate day.
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And Ponting was making no bones about it in criticizing the Australian hitters.
“You can’t blame the launch. The launch was absolutely perfect today. It is a bit of a spin, yes, but to be expected. Day three of a Test Match. Too little offer for the fast players, but it was just bad. hitting. Very, very bad hitting so far, “Ponting said, quoted by Seven.
The former captain believes that the Australians were not proactive enough against the Indian bowlers in this match.
“I think it’s been one of the reasons they finally got away, playing headlong shots. They haven’t been able to score regularly enough. The pressure increases. When the pressure increases, the bad shots come in,” Ponting said.
“I talked about it in the first innings, particularly with the way they played. Ravi ashwin. They were not proactive against him. Yes, it has been a good game of bowling, but sometimes against the best bowlers you have to take more risks as a batsman. For the simple fact that they are not going to throw bad balls. ”
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In photos: Australia on the ropes as India approaches victory in Melbourne
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A reduced Indian attack shrugged off an injury to pacemaker Umesh Yadav to defeat the Australian batsmen and give themselves a platform for a series leveling victory on Day 3 of the second test. (Fake images)
With Umesh lost to a veal strain after lunch, the all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja contributed two wickets and seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohd. Siraj took one each to leave Australia 133/6 in the stumps, holding on to a 2-run lead. (AP Photo)
Raw’s all-rounder Cameron Green, 17 not eliminated, and taileder Pat Cummins, 15, pounced to ensure India hits again, but Australia faces a huge task in setting up a proper chase. (AP Photo)
Alarmingly for the hosts, Steve Smith’s (8) form issues were clearly exposed, with Bumrah this time tossing him around his legs shortly after the tea break. (AP Photo)
Smith (1, 1 *, 0, 8), who healed from a back injury in the lead-up to Adelaide, has yet to hit double digits in this series. (Fake images)
Smith’s wicket caused a collapse with Travis Head (17) and Tim Paine (1) falling on successive laps. (Fake images)
Replacement starter Matthew Wade hit 40 of 137 balls and was Australia’s only fighter on Day 3. (AFP photo)
Earlier, India, anchored by the inspiring century of backup captain Ajinkya Rahane on Day 2, was eliminated by 326 points before lunch in response to Australia’s 195 (Getty Images).
Rahane, who was eliminated at 112, eventually finished as India’s top scorer in the first innings. Jadeja also reached an impressive 57 (photo ANI).
After losing the last 5 wickets for 49 races, India finished its innings at 326, taking a 131-race lead. (AFP photo)
He continued to praise the display of the Indian bowling attack.
“The less skilled bowlers that you can sit with all day because you know you’re going to get a chance or two to score and a switch, but Bumrah, Ashwin, Jadeja, even Siraj to some extent in this game, they don’t do many “. mistakes.
“In fact, they’ve forced the Australian hitter to make mistakes. When you’re sitting around waiting for good players to make mistakes, you’re basically an easy target,” Ponting said.
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