NAGPUR: It was like lambs being led to the slaughterhouse. They came, they played, they left, making no visible dent to the scoresheet. At one point of time it looked like the wickets column moved at a faster clip than the runs scored section on the scoreboard.
In the end, Australia were shot out in a little over two hours. All out for 91 in 32.3 overs. Even for an Australian side who do not like travelling to India — they have won one Test (Pune in 2017) out of 14 since their series win in 2004 — this was a capitulation of epic proportions.
They had planned for this very challenge of batting on the slow, low spin-friendly Indian surfaces for months. Yet, it’s the same old story of despair and helplessness in the face of ruthless efficiency. You could also say they allowed the pre-match pitch talk — not something uncommon — to play with their minds.
When that happens, India’s bowlers are so good they calmly chew you up and spit you out. That’s what took place on Saturday. The No. 1 ranked Test team knew what shots to avoid. They knew how to play. Yet, in the face of an onslaught of pace and spin, they tapped out.
The meltdown left everyone perplexed, even the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, who scored a hundred in the first innings. “No, I didn’t,” is what he said when asked if he expected the match to end well inside three days. “We were prepared to have a hard day’s bowling, spending session after session.
We never thought they would get bowled out in a session.” His Australian counterpart, Pat Cummins, also didn’t have much to say on the dreadful session. “Not too much. Playing in India, the game really speeds up.” The visitors now have almost a week to prepare for Delhi. It will be a similar surface. Will they be better prepared?